{"id":5041,"date":"2026-09-08T01:25:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T01:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/family.manandyak.com\/?p=5041"},"modified":"2026-09-08T01:25:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T01:25:26","slug":"fall-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/family.manandyak.com\/?p=5041","title":{"rendered":"Fall 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

We finally made it to the top of the dogpile! 8th Grade! Big man on campus! It’s so cool to think he has been at that school since he was 2 years old, in the “Sweet Peas” program. His tenure there is longer than any other student, and actually all but 4 faculty! The 8th Grade begins the year by welcoming the 1st Grade to the school, and each student is assigned a buddy. It’s beautiful to see the big kids stepping into mentorship roles, and sweet to see how little the 1st Graders are. Josef hit it off right away with Dara, his 1st Grade Buddy, and embraced the role of wise elder. I loved seeing him make a point to visit with his buddy in the morning, or include him in small activities.<\/p>\n

As tends to be the case, the start of school often heralds a new level of maturity and growth in Josef each year. His interactions with Dara are a great example; or how he now just rides his bike downtown to attend climbing team practice, or how he gets all his chores done without asking (usually…)  At the first class meeting Mr. Nelson was gently encouraging parents to help make sure their kids get homework done in a timely fashion, but I didn’t even kow there had been homework assigned–Josef was just handling it!  But of course he continues to be very immature in many ways, wonderful and maddening. Wonderfully innocent, cuddly, guileless, unsophisticated in his pleasures. Maddeningly self-centered, fragile and sometimes unable to commit to even the simplest decision. I sure love him.<\/p>\n

This fall was a time for theater.  Josef’s class took on a ridiculously elaborate challenge by staging their own version of Spirited Away, adapted by one of his classmates.  Josef was cast as one of the main characters again, and it gave him plenty of chances to shine.  It was quite an undertaking and the class worked hard to make it happen.  I was a little skeptical they could pull it off, but this has been a year of me getting to be pleasantly surprised at what they can accomplish all on their own.  Josef did a great job and I was very proud.<\/p>\n

Not to be outdone, I auditioned for Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and was cast in the ensemble.  I had some pretty juicy roles and I tried to make the most of them!  I was at rehearsal 4 nights a week–often for 3 hours–from Labor Day to Halloween.  Yikes, I’m not sure how I pulled that off!  It was quite the time commitment that’s for sure, but MAN was it fun.  I haven’t been a part of a creative team like that since the filmmaking days; it was especially great to be around so many funny young people, and all so welcoming and friendly.  Despite the long hours, I always came home energized rather than depleted.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Halloween, this year we decided to throw a banger of a party for all of Josef’s classmates.  We spent weeks making props and decorations and turned the basement into The Lair of the Spider Queen, with a mini haunted jump scare maze and a dance party.  We probably had 20-25 kids come and it was a blast.  Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time and I was pretty pleased to help start Josef on the ancestral path of hosting amazing parties.  Rachael would have loved it.<\/p>\n

At the end of September the 8th Grade went on their final class campout of the year and I was fortunate to be able to attend with a few other dads.  (They do have one other Outward Bound-style backpacking trip in the Spring, but parents are sadly not invited!)  We spent 3 nights camping at a Girl Scouts camp and helping the caretaker with chores.  I believe we split and stacked 8 cords of wood!  It was a blast to watch the kids all put their efforts and energy into something like that.  We made fire brigades 15 kids long and filled up dump trailers at record pace.  Then at night we gathered around the fire and the kids worked on their play.  I feel supremely fortunate that I get to share these experiences with them; it’s something I will always treasure.  I’m sad that this is the last year.<\/p>\n

Lastly, we started an extensive kitchen remodel in September that would take until March to complete.  My kitchen is quaint and has a lot of good memories, but it’s also very tiny and has poor counter space and lighting.  Whereas my dining room is spacious and completely devoid of charm.  So we switched them!  And made them both look way nicer.  But this of course presented certain culinary problems that we solved by setting up a camp stove and microwave in the garage, and turning it into a Garitchen!  It’s telling that when Josef and I cooked our first meal in there together (his Wednesday night chore) we both liked it better than the old kitchen!<\/p>\n

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