Everything is Awesome! - Weston

Capoeira at Boston Common

Here's the thing: this blog is a total failure. I have run dry of amused jibes, sarcasm, irony and anything approaching horror.  I just can't drop out of my elation, happiness and let's face it--out and out chortling--about being "home" in New England.  Frankly, nothing is going wrong. Nothing. Oh, okay, my kid broke his $7 Ninja sword within an hour of getting it from Amazon.com and there was that whole arm-break thing, but other than that, things are going well. Yeah, I have a woodchuck the size of a capybara patrolling the back yard, and skunks eating lawn grubs and leaving pits everywhere and my $70 bird bath has attracted nothing but poop so far but things are going well.

My niece made a mix CD for her birthday giveaway and the last song is "Everything is Awesome" and I have to tell you, it's my new theme song (yeah, I get that it is tongue-in-cheek but if it weren't...).  My kids are happy here though they still can't sleep in their own rooms. They have made fast friends not only with the neighbor kids but with the kids of a college friend who came to visit yesterday. Lalo even said "wow, she is really good at soccer" about the 10 year old and if you know Lalo, you would know that a compliment about a girl is a rare bird. Hang on, I have to go knock wood before continuing--I am so sure I am going to jinx myself...

As you probably know, I am a huge proponent of the American public school experience and so far, I am simply blown away by Weston public schools. First, both kids got letters from the superintendent of the school system, the principal of their elementary school and then today, their individual teachers sent them letters to welcome them. We went to an ice cream social for new families two days ago where I met several awesome (Everything's Awesome!) moms and PTO mamas (you know what I'm talking about).  We walked into the school's gym and it was nicer than their private school in Brazil. Their class size? 18. Class size in private school? 22. 

On Wednesday we had the kids' cousin over for a play date. When Lalo cried about his cousin leaving at 5 pm, I made a spur of the moment decision to go in with the boys to Boston where the cousin lives. There we met my sister-in-law who brought some stealth white wine in water bottles to the Boston Common and the kids collected acorns and played on the playground until full dark.  Ah, I should mention we did not give wine to the kids. Only pizza. Then I ran into the capoeira master for the group I had contacted two months ago from Brazil to see if the kids could join.  Then we (me and the kids, no capoeira master) slept over at my sister-in-laws house--nope, no change of clothes, no toothbrush--the walk of shame down Beacon Street the next morning brought back memories of college.

Today we went to capoeira in Brookline, a vibrant and fun community next to Boston. There we met up with Mestre Chuvisquinho (he of the Boston Common) and he said that the kids were doing capoeira in the park that day due to a scheduling issue. And then proceeded to give a class to the kids that totally kicked the butt of their São Paulo academy. In the warm sunshine of a neighborhood park. While the berimbau and drums played, I quietly sang to myself Everything is Awesome!

I know I'm jinxing myself. I know there will be bad days. I know I will hate something. But until then I give you full permission to skip my blog--I'm just not feeling the sarcasm, the wit, the fun. Awesome is perhaps not so great for my writing career.

Back when something goes wrong.