Notes from Childhood :: Age 8

As I was organizing paperwork last month, I started piling up notes and drawings from the past year that had accumulated around our house.  Some of it is recent and others are random notes and lists (in no particular order).  Here's some of what I found:

My final straw is to issue sentences.  He had about a week of sentence writing and boundary pushing at the end of January.

And while this exercise didn't cure him of talking back to his mom, it sure did give me a good 20 minutes to simmer down and ready myself for the conversation that comes after the sentences are written and turned in.

I can't remember what the greedy offense was, but when he finally turned this illustrated sentence sheet in to me he had sorrowful tears in his eyes and needed a big hug.  Lesson learned.  Oh, and I also love his curvy, full signature.  He's been very interested in learning cursive writing this year.

And we have another note to mother.  I see a theme here...

He dictated both lists to me and I ended up typing the one on the left (featured below in poem form), but it's the one on the right that cracks me up.  His love of reading is fierce and it kicked into overdrive this past summer. I particularly enjoy my boy's humor with the last line I can read...my dad's moods.  He gets that from his father!

Mom is back in favor for Mother's Day 2011 and he knows original poetry is the way to my heart.

I received yet another Mother's Day illustration showcasing his mad computer animation skills.  I'm the momma tiger.  Hearts filled with x's and o's.  So sweet.

Steve commented that his summer list sounded pretty lazy.  I totally agree and totally encouraged it.

By now you can probably tell I'm a girl that loves her list.  What do I love more than making lists?  Crossing things off said list (and sharpies).  This is the boy's summer wish list of things he wanted to do (above) and we set about doing and crossing off like nobody's business.

This end of the year itinerary cracked me up.  We went away for a few days after xmas to Costanoa.  I love the last entry:  #6.  Go to bed happy.  I can see my list-making ways are starting to rub off.

Just a little pre-dinner banter with the boy.  I'm sure he wasn't speaking to me at this point and, therefore, just slipped me a note during dinner prep.

This chicken killing note was written on a small piece of paper that he put in a book I was reading, as a bookmark.  When I went to bed that evening and opened my book - there it was.  Just a quiet little reminder to murder our flock.  Should I be concerned?

These postcards from camp are priceless.  He morphed from Grady into Hawk in the course of four days.  When he returned from camp he signed off on a lot of correspondence as Hawk, his nature name.

Each of us in our little family filled out one of these forms on New Year's Day.  I love reading this and I'm going to try and remember to do this every year.  The computer comic book urge has fallen out of favor, but he is definitely a voracious reader and super excited about trying to reach his oh so ambitious goal of 1,000 books this year.  He truly misses our dog, Molly.  He also has figured out that if he compliments me on my cooking, I'll probably make him more pizza.  Such a smart little man.


This was really a fun way to document a year in the life of Grady in his own words (even the ones I made him write!).  I have started a little folder on my desk for artwork and notes for 2012 and look forward to the wisdom, humor and beauty I will store in there.