Summer's Swan Song

It has been a full week. Most of our meals were picnics, we scootered wherever we could and slept as late as possible. We also bid farewell to our last summer house guests and our beloved babysitter. Lots of late nights and lazy pajama mornings mixed with the inkling of the routine that awaits us.

We scootered to Buckingham Palace today to tour the Royal Mews and play at St James Park. We lingered way longer than we should have and felt a nip in the air, watched the sun begin to dip, and tried to make dinner out of a few hot dogs before heading home. Then we discovered that Big Brother did in fact need new school shoes. For tomorrow. Even still, it was all over too quickly and I'm still stitching a kazillion nametags onto a sea of uniforms that range from size Very Tiny But Still Too Big for Baby Sister to polo shirts for Biggest Brother that I could probably wear.

Their bags are packed and at the door and their breakfast table will be festive. There's nothing I could quite tuck into those little bags to represent all that our summer has been, so I can just hope memories of a great summer will carry them through the first day at Our Sweet School.

These four little people are undoubtedly summer's best company!  I miss them already. And not just because they introduced me to "The Fall Guy."

Starring Chips the Fish

Recently we were treated to Big Sister's (Reception) class assembly concluding their study of "under the sea."  Big Sister had a starring role as "Chips the Fish." I was reminded again how much school has made us feel at home in London. How blessed we are to be there, how grateful we are for the welcome we've received and that we are home at school.

Assemblies at Our Sweet School are a way for each class (the school has just one class per grade) to present what they've learned over a half term to the rest of the school and adoring parents.  The assemblies are amazing. Children as young as Big Sister perform 20-30 minutes of singing, dancing, and scripted lines in sweetly simple costumes, all while covering a multitude of subjects. How the teachers come up with the programs is astonishing. I am always struck by how much the children present and how beautifully it all comes together. Each half term their topics are studied across all of their subject areas so they are completely immersed in the ideas. They know their stuff and they're proud to show it.

Big Brother's Africa assembly included masks they'd made in art, a drum piece they wrote for djembes with their music teacher, and power point slides that provided the back drop to their acting out African folk tales. He was Anansi the Spider. And darling in my black turtleneck. Minutes earlier he'd had lots of extra legs attached.

Biggest Brother's last assembly included 3 films the children had written, directed, and filmed. With special effects.

Assemblies are in the school's "hall" (the big room that serves as lunch room, indoor PE space, dance floor (and bar!) for family discos, talent show stage, gathering place for fayres, and sanctuary for Mass). Our school is so small that saying "hall" is likely giving you the wrong impression. It is sweetly cozy. I so wish you could see it and hearing 200 little British voices singing and praying together. It makes it impossible not to cry most times I am in that hall.

Without a doubt the assemblies are great learning experiences for the audience, too.  Baby Sister is still singing the catchy tune of "Ancient Egypt Embalmers!"  Much to her delight, when she went to Big Brother's room (Class 3) with me last week (to give a Thanksgiving lesson as part of their study of celebrations) they serenaded her with it as a "thank you for coming" treat!  She'll assuredly start school in the fall with lots of big friends. That is a fair trade for being carted through lots of volunteering, committee meetings and what must seem like an endless cycle of dropping off and picking up of siblings.

The assemblies always begin and end with a prayer. One child from the class welcomes their guests and is greeted by a loud chorus of children who ALL know his name. Basically, I'm saying I want to be a student at Our Sweet School.  But I'll gladly settle for being a parent and seeing my family embraced by students, staff, and other families. It was love at first sight (and sound) for the Mister and me and for our Real Estate consultant, too.

My heart will forever be in that hall and part of that dear community of families. It was meant to be in the way that our old house was. I'm sure of that. There are too many "coincidences" that made it all work for us.

I dream of the families we play with now reuniting on other continents in other decades. Of the children remaining friends forever.

When I was looking for a preschool for Biggest Brother and again when we first moved with school children, I asked dear and trusted friends what to look for when I visited schools. What I should ask? What metrics should we rank above others? They all gave great counsel in suggesting we would know the right school by how it felt to us. By how orderly yet happily the children conducted themselves. By the looks on the faces of the students. In that regard, Our Sweet School cannot be beat. It is a big leap to find a school when moving to a new country. A leap of faith.

So it goes without saying that I'm in love with Our Sweet School. Also very much in love with Chips the Fish, Anansi the Spider, our resident filmmaker, and their best little audience member, too.

And Chips the Fish, well she loves her costume designer right back!

Can I Do This for You?

I promise that I will not subject you to 40 days of proselytising, but I have made it to daily Mass (yes, good counting: that means both times so far this week. And got ashes!) and I'm already convinced that it isn't just a few days' springlike weather in London that has given us all a bounce in our step. I feel the slowing down, the thoughtfulness, the reflection and light that I've been needing.


The hymn below, "Servant Song," has been in my head all week.  One of my favorites. It applies to so much of life. To marriage, families, and friendship. I may have already printed the lyrics and given them to you at some point. (Also Elizabeth Foss' column "Don't Blink" but that's a discussion for another day! Stop Blinking! Unless you are sleeping. That is very important.) Whenever I'm at Mass and see "Servant Song" will be sung, I'm pretty certain it is God winking at me saying, "Here's your song!  Hooray and thanks for coming!" (Because that's really how He talks, right?!)


I often give this hymn to friends when they are moving. We've just heard that 2 wonderful school families who've been very good to us are planning moves. One dear family we adore (4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys just the ages of our smalls but their girls are their oldest - what are the chances?) already moved to France. We can only be thrilled for our friends to begin new adventures in exciting places, but it sure feels funny to be graduating to being a more experienced parent at the school already. Being the new family is nice. Comforting in an ignorance is bliss sort of way. So I am ramping up all my questions to ask of them all before they leave.


Having queried friends whose corporate and military lives have made them move much more frequently than we have, I understand that there are benchmarks for settling in to life in a new place. It has been said that you feel somewhat adjusted in a new home and town within about six months, at a year you've begun to really make friends, and at 18 months those friendships become very strong. I certainly agree with that as it has been our experience, too. This time, though, we feel like we're on fast forward. On Valentine's Day last year, the Mister and I were here house hunting. I must pause here and give a cheer to our lovely friend who kept our 4 children for an entire week while we house and school hunted. She is still speaking to us and the children had likely their favorite week ever in her care. (We're also very lonely for her and hope she'll visit us this summer!  Hint, hint and hurry over!) So we have not quite lived in London a year. And yet, we have dear neighbors and wonderful friends. We love our school. We are home. We are blessed. 


It was lovely being out for Mass so early this morning, walking a regular route and discovering yet again that London is a city of little neighborhoods full of familiar faces. On the way to and from church I chatted with our Spanish trash man (we were so tickled to run into each other blocks from where we usually meet - at my back door!), the Scottish nun from our parish, and our very Irish handyman (who seemed positively delighted to learn I was just coming from Mass!). I had a renewed spirit before it was even time to head out to take the kids to school.


Now while I host a (cheese) pizza party for the smallest people, the Mister and Biggest Brother are back at school to play the drums with the school's Deputy Head Teacher and Biggest Brother's assistant teacher on guitars. Friday Guys' Night Out. In the basement of our sweet little school. 


Mostly, tonight I'm sending this in hopes that you'll let me be your servant.


The Servant Song


Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant too

We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load

I will hold the Christ light for you
In the night time of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you
Speak the the peace you long to hear

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I'll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we've seen this journey through

When we sing to God in heaven
We shall find such harmony
Born to all we've known together
Of Christ's love and agony


Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant too