One of the things we enjoy about being parents is watching our kids toggle between the present and the future – in one moment expressing their kid-ness and in the next giving us a glimpse of who they might become. It’s an encapsulation of the timeless debates of philosophers and physicists about being and becoming – right in our living room! And this year, it showed up in some powerful and surprising ways.
For Dylan, it showed up in a letter from the San Francisco Ballet School inviting him to study on scholarship – one of twenty boys chosen out of thousands observed at schools across the city. If we were a bit surprised by the news (having barely heard a word from Dylan about the once-a-week Dance in Schools ballet sessions at school while they were happening), it just re-affirmed his enormous physical talent. Now, when he comes home showing off his tendus or explaining that his session got moved because the SF Ballet’s professionals needed their regular room, we shake our heads in wonder. Oh, and in case you were wondering if ballet has supplanted soccer, it has not. Indeed, Dylan took his first step on the path toward the professional game when he attended an invitation-only camp in Georgia hosted by the West Ham Academy (yes, that’s West Ham of the Premier League!). Back home, he joined a new club, practices at every opportunity, and is nearly surpassing Matt in his knowledge of players and teams in the European professional leagues.
For Adela, it showed up in a letter inviting her to join the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Another reminder that Adela was born for the stage, this opportunity transformed music from a hobby to nearly a job – with four hours of rehearsal supplemented by theory assignments and the need to memorize the words to a dozen songs. She took to it with a new level of devotion – really learning to read in the process! – and we were blown away watching her perform with the full chorus at Davies Hall for their annual holiday sing-a-long. Adela also continued with musical theater, performing in Hairspray and Suessical the Musical. She awaits – not altogether patiently – her first starring role.
The process of being and becoming is, of course, not limited to our children’s lives. We became godparents to Karla Abigail (aka Abby), the adorable daughter of our amazing caregiver Mirian and her husband Enrique. Jeannette also became a wedding officiant this year, undertaking the 10-mouse-click process in order to officiate the wedding of dear friends Katherine and Tony in San Francisco’s City Hall. Though inspiring, it did not steer her to a new profession, as she continues to work full time as the Director of Practice at the Education Trust-West in Oakland with an amazing group of colleagues. She is thankful for the opportunity to advocate for equitable opportunities and outcomes for low-income students and students of color as they prepare for college and career success. Her work takes her all over California, but she cherishes time with family and friends.
Matt became an employee while continuing to be a consultant. Having worked with New Leaders for two years as a consultant, he formally joined the organization in the spring as Executive Director of State Services. In that capacity, he leads a talented team of experts who advise states on their strategies for school leadership. It’s been highly rewarding work, as he has interacted with state and school district leaders from Hartford, Connecticut to French Lick, Indiana. Matt continues to teach at Stanford, loves his board work with Parents for Public Schools and Partners in School Innovation, and reserves a day a week for other consulting projects.
Others in our lives had notable milestones: Michael LaFors became a college graduate, Michael Cone became a lawyer, Mayee Yap received her MBA, Curt and Ann Kelemen became parents (welcome, Sydney), and Jonah Kelemen became a kindergartner.
Among our travels this year, London stood out. We spent a week there with friends and gracious hosts John, Alice, Kate and Abby. Barely scratching the surface of an amazing city, we took in a football match at Craven Cottage, a show in the West End, Stonehenge, Oxford, London Tower, the Globe, Westminster Abbey, Harrod’s and more. More than anything, it was a joy to see the kids learn in new ways. Summer took the kids east for time with the Kelemen clan – Dylan for a week in Liniken Bay, Maine, and Adela for a week in Columbia and the Delaware beach. In the fall, Kary and Nanette treated the LaFors clan to a Disney trip, where Dylan took good care of his cousin Cole while Adela and Claire enjoyed the magic of the place. And we ended the year traversing the mid-Atlantic, visiting Michele and Benoit’s “farm house†for the first time, celebrating Christmas in Richmond at the home of Jean-Paul and Laura, and spending a few quiet days in Baltimore, Columbia and DC.
On this last trip of the year, we traversed a bit of Civil War history, from Bull Run to Monticello to Richmond to Ford’s Theater in DC. Coinciding with the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, these visits reminded us of the heavy price that Americans have paid and continue to pay in the pursuit of full equality for all people. Jefferson got the “being” part right by declaring all men equal. Lincoln reminded us of what we would become by calling on people to honor the dead at Gettysburg by recommitting to the great task of giving the nation a “new birth of freedom.” That great task continues today and we’re blessed to be a part of it.
Peace to you and yours.
Jeannette, Matt, Dylan and Adela