Lucky

Yesterday was a busy day…and a VERY good reminder about how privileged we are. When I got to the YWCA, there were no tweens at all. The oldest kid I talked with wasn't even 10 yet. But it was even worse than I could have imagined - I WISHED for sullen tweens. I chatted with a girl exactly Wm's age while we attempted (and failed miserably) to make a lanyard and she told me she was in the 3rd grade, but hadn't been to school in a while because "life was complicated" and her mom had no longer been able to afford the motel they were living in - so they ended up in the shelter. There were, of course, lots of other kids around (and I was able to read out loud to some super cute itty bitties and do sing alongs with some in-betweeners), but it was the girl in the same grade as Wm, with the same blond hair and blue eyes, that really stuck with me. As we left, one of the women I went with said, "Well…back to our bubble - who wants to go out to dinner?" And I left feeling like we really do live in a bubble. I hope I never forget that - or how lucky we are!

In Wm's world, he spent yesterday skyping with a friend and playing Minecraft on his server, making YouTube videos of their exploits, going to church (and learning about the differences and similarities in different religion's stories and drawing Noah's "arc" instead of "ark" - wondering why everyone else was drawing boats while was was drawing a decorated curved line), and worked hard on his state fair project. He and I made his first "artifact":

A miner and his "gold" nugget

Steve and Wm also set out to work on his map. He got a GIANT poster board, so it should be something to behold!! 

Finally, Steve has started to wear my FitBit to sleep on Saturday nights so it will vibrate him silently awake so he won't set the alarm and jar me awake at 6:15am. There was one slight mishap because I didn't sync it after the time change so it went off an hour late and he was all upset. BUT, I discovered that Steve is barely alive when he sleeps. I'm not even 100% sure he breathes. Here is his sleep tracking:

And here is a "typical" night for me:

No wonder Steve needs less sleep - he doesn't so much as twitch the entire time he's out!!