Thursday, December 16, 2021

Thankful for Art Class




This week concludes a two-month offering of arts and crafts at Asher's school, which Amy and I eagerly signed him up for.  Given that Asher is a relatively early riser, the fact that we ship him off to school at 7:20am four days a week has not been a problem, and in fact having some non-classroom and more tactile activity with friends first thing has been delightful for him at times.  

The big difference-maker is for the grown-ups.  Amy's appointments start early so she's usually out of the house by 7:15am, leaving me to hang with Asher all the way until almost 8:30am before first bell.  It may not seem like a lot of time, but when I am the sole recipient of Asher's most energetic hour, it can take a lot out of me, to say nothing of the chaos of the playground setting when I finally do drop him off for school along with dozens of other 1st grade parents, or the frantic rush hour traffic I have to fight after that on my bike to get into the office.

Rolling into work at pushing 9:00am, the meetings start almost right away while I'm still reeling from having absorbed Asher's demands for horsey rides, multiple tantrums, or other high-stakes negotiations.  Contrast that with the serenity of a 7:20am drop-off, a more leisurely commute downtown, and a full hour and change of uninterrupted high-energy work time before meetings start.  I'm obviously not superhuman, but for that one extra hour when I'm feeling fresh and have no distractions, you'll excuse me if I feel as though I've gained some sort of radioactive powers.  

So thank you art, and thank you Asher's art teachers.  You are building up our son.  And unlocking some serious grown-up productivity in the process.


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