Again, what I am teaching my own students about writing is coming up in my writing life as well. We are working on writing about firsts and lasts. After all, we are surrounded by them all the time if we just open our eyes to them. I am still processing the last moments that Gwynn didn't "know" about Santa, and surely there will be more about that soon, as it was a very bittersweet last. But if you are paying attention, with lasts come firsts as well. Tonight, I had my first night picking up Devin from sports practice after school. He decided to join the bowling team, so there I was, sitting in my car, in the dark, alongside all the other sports parents, waiting for him to emerge from the High school. He walked over to the car, got in, professed that he was STARVING, and rattled on and on all the way home about practice, and what he'd learned, and what he would need. It was just such fun to see and hear him so engaged and excited about something new. That, after all, is what firsts are all about.