So. Those twelve months just happened. Pandemic. Social distancing. Global recession. Western democracy in crisis. The climate almost at its recorded warmest. Toilet paper shortages.

…

Preschool has been great, though!

Great.

According to Julia, she’s enjoyed preschool more than day care, and she loved day care. The first few days were a bit rough, of course, since it was a brand new environment with strange new adults – more so because we missed out on the normal introductory tour thanks to COVID-19 restrictions – but once she got acclimated, it’s been such a smooth ride. By all accounts, she’s done really well on the education side, too. For example, she’s made teacher’s assistant several times, as she’s been so quick to complete her learning tasks. Most days, she’s left preschool a happy child.

As a parent, three things have made me especially happy:

• Julia’s preschool has remained open all year. Apart from the staff wearing masks inside and a few other logistical adjustments, the preschool experience seems to have been a relatively normal in-person one for the kids. Indeed, the biggest medical emergency so far has been a minor pinworm (“kihomato”) epidemic. Thankfully, no worms tickled their way into my family’s anuses (that we know of).
• Julia got placed in the same preschool group with her best friends from day care. And she’s made new friends. All in all, it’s a really nice group of kids she gets to hang out with every day.
• The preschool activities rock some pretty solid pedagogic creds. The staff have somehow managed to dress all sorts of cool, constructive, and quite advanced work in the guise of play. Day care already did the same, of course, but the preschool stuff is genuinely and impressively next-level. They even do a kind of programming. I never went to preschool myself, but I’m pretty sure it looked nothing like this back in the 80s.
• We’ve learned to start the day bright and early as a family. I’m kidding. I’m so kidding. I did say “three things”. Who the hell gets up at 7:00 and goes to school or work by 8:00? Granted, we get up around 8:00 and walk Julia to preschool by 9:00, which is the official deadline, but that’s still too goddamn early.

Two more months of preschool, and then that’s that. Next up, first grade.

PS. I’m also happy Julia got to graduate from day care in person. We voluntarily kept her home for two months during the first COVID-19 wave in spring 2020, but thankfully the wave passed before the semester ended, and so she got to see her friends again, and the day care staff got to give their fivers (“viskarit”) a proper sendoff. It was a wonderful 5-year run for her.

Thank you, day care!

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2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021

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More chillin’.

Super excited about her stay-at-home schedule during the first wave.

You climb it because it’s right there.

Even Dad has his uses.

First time in a bar. For a quick snack (and one gin tonic).

This is how we roll in the countryside.

So thrilled to take yet another photo with Dad.

This was just so much fun. Not pictured: Mom and Dad also climbing.

Dressing for the times.

Yup. Maikki.

Yup. Still inseparable.

First baby tooth freshly fallen.

Literally the moment reading clicked for her.

When you label your new headset for age but then realize you’re about to turn years.

Achievement unlocked: First PC video game playthrough completed. Welcome to the Master Race!

7 years to the day.

First mobile phone. Kids these days…

See you next year.