The flight attendant warned us about the sun before we even left Anchorage. "Keep your window shades down," she cautioned. "The sun will be rising as we come into the city, and it can be overpowering." The tone was set.
With a smooth flight and even smoother collection of bags and rental car behind me, I pointed my little blue Honda southward towards Wolf's school. It is quite beautiful down here, hot and sunny, and the mountains stick up like sentries surrounding the city.
The school itself is located in an area that was formerly considered the countryside. Now the encroachment of suburbia and all that goes with it have the school smack in the middle, not necessarily a bad thing.
I arrived just after breakfast time for the kids, so Wolf was ready and waiting for me when the front desk called. It was a long and lanky young man who walked though the double doors, Dungeons and Dragons book in one arm, the other stretched out to give me a welcome hug. I might add here that Wolf is as tall as me, but with bigger feet.
He introduced me to his counselor who suggested a tour of the school. Built in a circle, the facility has a lovely courtyard in the middle, landscaped through a grant from Lowe's Hardware. It is a nice place to visit and listen to the waterfall, smell the flowers, and get some fresh air. The kids also use it as their freetime area.
Wolf was a bit anxious as we approached his peers, but settled down to play some Scrabble and have a fruit smoothie from my first trip to Target (there were two today). We had a nice time just catching up and rediscovering each other, a very crucial beginning to building up a "new" relationship.
Wolf ate lunch with his pals and I went to his room to investigate his outgrown clothing situation, of which there was much. Before heading to my hotel I ran into Target again for a try at sizing clothing to a kid who is not really a kid anymore. Coupled with my post-red-eye stupor, this lasted about an hour before I had to stop and go to the hotel for a nap.
Before I left the school, Wolf and I agreed to share dinner together, so I brought his favorite McD's, along with strawberries and some really, really good cookies with frosting that I had to have. Really.
I had intended on staying with Wolf for a while, but he was so excited about his new duds, and the sheet/comforter set I bought, that he wanted to go to his room and get his stuff all "fixed up." So we parted company early; probably a good thing since the day is catching up to me.
I don't have much insight to offer at this point; it felt a bit like we both were a bit unsure of what to do with ourselves, probably because he can't leave the school and I am still learning just where we are allowed to venture within the school's walls. But I am not to worried; today was a reconnection day, tomorrow will be its own, and at least I am here.
Wolf says hi to everyone, and pledges to work harder on writing letters or postcards. It will be difficult to post any photos of him on this visit, since he is on campus, and the campus has clear confidentiality rules that I certainly respect.
Like the sun, the day was powerful, but beautiful.
1 comment:
Hooray Wolf!! Tell him hi from his buds, and I have a hard time picturing him as tall as you - that means he has far outstretched my wannabe linebacker, who is doing flips on the trampoline as we "speak". Enjoy yourself, rest, and take deep breaths. We are watching out and watching the blog.
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