I sometimes reflect back on my own memories and try to think about what Maile will remember. Most of it is a big blur. My guess is this blog will play some role in helping Maile with her own memories. Or she’ll just be lucky and take after her mother instead of her father and remember absolutely everything.
To the extent my writing her has some influence, let me just remind you, Maile, that you had two amazing Kindergarten teachers! The didn’t coddle you, but they loved you and supported you and taught you so much. My guess is you were having so much fun most of the time that you didn’t even realize it. With them as your guide, your Chinese went from words strung together to full, confident sentences. And you used those words and sentences to explore so much of the world around you. Your senses. Our family. Art. Water and weather. The food we eat. How things move.
Yesterday I posted pictures of how much you grew and changed physically – but the mental and emotional changes you went through this year are even greater. Matthew Lao Shi and Lorraine Lao Shi were your guides every step of the way. You certainly don’t have everything sorted quite yet, but they led you well and gave you an incredible foundation to keep building upon.
Maile and Matthew Lao Shi
Maile and Lorraine Lao Shi
