This was the longest book I’ve read to Liam, and it had me
thinking about, Patty, one of Liam’s first teachers. He had just started
preschool and we received a report that his first morning went so well. That
same afternoon, we got a call from a different teacher that Liam was crying
because he was scared of nap time. At his school, the teachers somehow pull out
these tiny, individual cots that all children sleep in or “rest quietly” during
nap time.
I had a lot of sympathy for Liam. I went to what we
called nursery school for a half day so there were no naps. Still, I had a lot
of anxiety and it took me weeks to feel comfortable in the new environment.
The next day we got a call from the same teacher. She
said that they would be able to give Liam some time to adjust but this was a
prep period for her. It was sort of left unsaid this couldn’t go on forever.
Then, Patty stepped in. She spent extra time with Liam
the next two days, welcoming him to the school and helping him feel more
comfortable at nap time. By the end of the week, Liam was asleep minutes
into nap time and it was never an issue again.
The nap issue may have resolved itself on its own, but
we’ll never know. What we do know is her kindness and warmth helped Liam become
comfortable in a new environment, and he had a great experience at the school
for the next two-plus years.
So how does this relate to Harry Potter? We became
friends with Patty and her husband John. Their family loves horse racing and we
met them one beautiful Saturday at Arlington Park. One of their son’s, who
worked at Arlington, even gave Liam a special tour.
I’m not sure how it came up, but Patty told us that she
read every word of the Harry Potter series to her two wonderful boys. That’s
quite something but I’m not surprised. Whether it’s nap time or reading time, Patty
is amazing.
2. Liam
started to enjoy watching the Packers this year and he likes watching football
videos. He is definitely picking up the lingo. I threw him a pass Saturday and he made a bunch of cuts for a touchdown. He pointed
at something on the ground and said, “Look, I broke that leaf’s ankle.”
3. We
were on a bike ride earlier this week, and Liam commented that someone we passed,
“looked just like Seattle coach Pete Carroll.” He was right; he did.
Of course, the man didn’t act like Carroll because that would
have meant running around with a goofy grin and passing on second-and-goal at
the 1 with 26 seconds left in the Super Bowl! Couldn’t resist.
4. My brother Mike and his wife Gillian gave us a bottle
of Cherry Bomb hot sauce.
Liam asked me to read the label after he tried it. The
label reads in part that the sauce, “explodes with complex flavors.” Liam looked
thoughtfully and said, “I guess I’m not old enough yet to appreciate complex
flavors.”
5. Liam and I
were watching golf and a player’s shot found the sand. Or, as Liam referred to
it, a sand pit. I told him, Liam, it’s called a sand trap or bunker.
He responded that, “In my world, I call it a sand pit.”
Sometimes, it’s Liam’s world and we’re all just living in
it. We’ll let that example of Liam Logic walk us off.
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