Mama's Memories for M: Cold, Snow, Unmanned Pants, and a Special Award for a Special Kid

Mali ~

Started the year with our traditional New Year dinner at Memaw and Papaw's. We skipped the traditional pork and sauerkraut and instead enjoyed lasagna along with creamy taters and brats stew. Aunt Connie, Timmy, Kelly and Brian all joined us as well and it was nice to gather together since this is our first new year without Uncle Pat.

In typical teen and pre-teen fashion, you sat on the couch with your cousins staring at screens after dinner.

the cousins

random insight into how much personal space I get at home

On one particular day, the newscasters predicted a super hard snowfall with almost a foot of accumulation. Everyone in town was preparing for it but the snow did not arrive until rather late in the day and wasn't deep enough to even consider sledding until almost dark. Our family was stoked for some fun in the snow and of course didn't let some dusky darkness stop us from trudging up to the hill in our neighborhood well past sunset to be the first to enjoy some sledding! I love that we are *this* family in the 'hood.

you hitched a ride home after hitting the slopes

The next morning I hit the trail with Suzy and couldn't help but reminisce about how much fun Abby used to have in weather like this. She was a cold climate dog for sure and snow was her favorite! Of course, Suzy did a great job of having a blast in the snow as well...as you can see here.

and Pip just stayed inside where it's warm, striking this sexy pose

When I got home, you and Ana were out playing in the snow with the new penguin molds we got for you. I put Suzy inside and helped you build a fort (for your penguin army), took you sledding, and made some delicious snow cream.

posing with your penguin king on his throne

sledding!

And here...right now...I am going to take the time to write a paragraph or so to give you a big ol' shout out. It revolved around another time we went sledding during this snowfall where it was just you and me on the hill together, as well as a couple girls there that ride your bus. They pretty much stayed to themselves, but while we were sledding, you noticed that they might have enjoyed using one of our extra sleds and, without hesitation, freely offered our extra sled to them. That, in and of itself, does not seem super special. However, did I mention that these particular girls stare at you on the bus and make you feel very uncomfortable? Yeah. Well, they do. Anyway, in spite of them making you uncomfortable sometimes, purposely or by accident, you still maintained an open heart of kindness towards them. Something that I'm not sure I would have been capable of at your age. You have a generosity and a softness about you in all the places that have hardened in myself over time due to various traumas in my life. I admire that about you. So much. I admire that you have an openness and a desire to see the good in others where I do not always so readily. Whether it's out of fear or self-preservation, these skills don't come as naturally to me as they do to you. I hope you can hold tight to these gifts while still remaining able to advocate for and protect yourself when necessary. I'm not certain, but I would be willing to bet it will make your life easier in the long run. You are such a beautiful mixture of love, hope, and innocence. I'm so grateful for you.

Ok, thank you for indulging me in that. It just needed to be said.

Moving along...your school had a very cool evening this month. It was a cultural family event where everyone brought in a dish to share that was important to, or a favorite of, their family and through which they could share a little of their cultural heritage. Families also could bring in historical and/or cultural heirlooms from their family as well. Your school is such a diverse melting pot with all different family backgrounds, it was a fascinating evening that we spent together. I am incredibly thankful for the foresight and inclusive leadership at your elementary. It will be hard to top when you finally move on to middle school.

all the children colored life-size hand prints to place around the globe
as part of a giant decoration in the cafeteria where we ate
(it's hard to scale this but it was a display bigger than me)

these were some of the cultural items brought from Chinese
families at your school

here you are waiting on some Japanese calligraphy

poster outside your classroom

participating in the drum circle

Daddy trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue
while walking to the car with our crock pot

Now, I would say that the biggest thing to happen this month is what I am about to mention next. And honestly, I don't really know how to share it again and do it the proper justice it deserves...so I will borrow my words from when I shared it with family and friends on Facebook the day it happened.

"A few weeks ago we found out that Mali won an award. It turns out that her school counselor wrote an essay to nominate Mali and she was ultimately selected as one of three kids in the Westerville City School District to win this honor ~ The Fouse Award, given to "students who most effectively exemplify the characteristics demonstrated by Martin Luther King, Jr." That, in and of itself, was a big deal...but at 7:30am this morning we attended Westerville's Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Breakfast where Mali (along with others) were ceremoniously presented with their awards by Dr. Kellogg (superintendent of our school system). This event, with all of its speakers who shared about the great Dr. King, was extremely overwhelming, humbling and moving. Shawn and I are so proud of who Mali is and the kind, empathetic, generous, patient, accepting, and bright person she continues becoming every day. We are so grateful to her school family for truly seeing and supporting her all these years and that we have been given the privilege of walking through life with her. I hope that someday I can be more like her when I grow up."

I am so damn proud of you.

place setting from the breakfast

the page where you are mentioned in the program
as well as a description of the Fouse Award

recipients of the awards with Dr. Kellogg

accepting your award from Dr. Kellogg, superintendent of our school system

with your wonderful principal, Dr. Hazlett (in blue) and
your amazingly supportive counselor, Mrs. Wolfgang (in stripes)

with Memaw and Papaw...
(Lao Lao went to Hawaii for a long planned writing workshop
two days prior or you better believe she'd be here, too!)

Then, the day after the awards ceremony, you were recognized by two women on the streets of Westerville. My lil' celebrity. Ha ha.

buds, soaking up the sun

Suzy slides into my spot when I get up in the morning
(we've been sleeping on the couch for a while now as your way
of easing into sleeping in your own bed...eventually)

Another cold, snowy, wintry day you and I decided to go out for a fun outing together. The first stop was a music shop in town to ask about guitar lessons and lo and behold, they were offering a free group lesson just as we walked in. Cool timing, yeah?

Our next stop was one of our favorite international markets where you found seaweed that you have now decided you love to eat since your friend, Gloria, gave you some at school. My car may have smelled like the ocean when you were done, but there are definitely less healthy snacks for you to choose!

Next, we headed to the Short North to walk around and hit some of our fave stores (Big Fun, Rocket Fizz, etc) and also debated on getting matching tattoos. Ha ha.

The cold snap got even colder, getting well below zero, and so we decided to freeze some of our jeans outside in the cold weather. It was actually really cool. We dunked them in water and then held them up outside for about 5 minutes with a pair of boots in the bases to give them "a leg to stand on" (ba dum bum) and voila! Eerily standing on their own! Neat, huh? We even took a pair over to the neighbors' house to leave on the front porch and freaked them out when they got home. Ha ha!