This past weekend we took Capone to the Day of the Dozer. It’s a fundraiser for the local community cancer center and give kids a chance to see lots of different construction equipment up close and even ride on the bulldozer, excavators, dump trucks and other equipment. We knew that Capone would be a little young for some of the activities, but decided to give it a try. He had a blast.
At least until it was time to actually ride on an excavator. Then the combination of the heat, impending naptime, and being handed over to strangers led to about 30 seconds of riding and crying. By the time we got out of the parking lot he was already asleep.
We’ve also had some other terrain changing news. About a week ago, Capone finally decided he was ready to walk on his own. He’s been walking while holding on to hands or walls for quite some time, but he just wouldn’t let go. Then last Saturday, he let go and in the span of 5 minutes went from 2 steps to 5 steps to 10+ steps.
He’s gotten much faster and steadier in the course of the last week, but here’s some video of his first steps.
Now he walks as a default unless he’s trying to escape quickly. Once he discovered that he could walk and drink at the same time, he was sold on the idea. He now officially hangs with the big kids (i.e. 3 and 4 year olds) at daycare now. No more crawling. No more morning naps. And he got transferred to a cot like this for naptime because he outgrew his Pack n Play. All of those things have been exciting, but the transitions have gone very smoothly. The biggest issues have been trying to find shoes that a) actually fit him and b) he’ll wear for more than 5 minutes so he can walk when we’re out and about. I haven’t even started to tackle the challenge of devising some sort of travel sleeping arrangement for a toddler who’s too big for a pack n’ play, but not ready for for a toddler bed either. We may just end up staying home until that transition is complete.
And in the midst of all of Capone’s new milestones, I’m undertaking a earth moving change as well. Last fall I officially decided to take a leave of absence from the university. There were many factors involved and it was a decision that I had been contemplating for a long time, but ultimately I decided that I needed some time to rethink some priorities and explore other options. So for the first time since Kindergarten a school years started without me as a teacher or a student. It was a very bittersweet moment, but also very exciting. As friends and colleagues headed back, I was weighing job offers one of which would have taken me back to the classroom albeit a classroom 45 minutes away. After a summer of applications and interviews and weighing job offers and career paths, I have officially accepted a job. Ironically it just 4 floors above Rakicy, so we’ll be driving together. It’s by no means my dream job and is a complete shift away from teaching, but after considering all my options, it hopefully will be the best fit. I consider myself very blessed to have had choices especially given the current economy.
