Dear Liza,
When I lived in Salinas and saw you every week, I got to watch you learn things step by step. You went from crawling to walking to climbing, and I got to see it happen.
But since I was living THERE and Cousins Jasper and Kestrel were HERE, I didn’t get to see their progress. I just saw a tiny kid, then a bigger kid. Now that I am here, I get to enjoy their growing up show week by week.
Kestrel is becoming more gracious and verbal, telling wonderful stories as we go on adventures around town. She doesn’t just tell what the characters do, but how they feel about it.
Cousin Jasper is growing in confidence. Last summer at the Cascadia Circus Camp, he was able to perform, but would scoot off stage as soon as he could. He got stressed out being in the spotlight.
This spring, I got to see him and Kestrel at their Echo Theater aerobatics camp, and they both enjoyed it very much. But it was only their first week.
Yesterday I got to watch Jasper after five full days of camp. He was not only performing tricky bits on the rings and in the scarves, but he was working as part of a team on some tricks. He was able to coordinate, cooperate, and be half of a whole.
He also would time his turns so that he was sometimes on stage alone, the center of our attention. He was focused on his work, but hearing our applause made him smile. And watching him grow, step by step, made me smile.
Kestrel didn’t want to be part of the show, so she spent half the show on her Daddy Dave’s lap, and half on Auntie Katie’s. We all had a good time.Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 