1 // 52

Lillia 1 of 52 (2016)
Zane 1 of 52 (2016)

“A portrait of my children every week in 2016.”

Lillia: It’s week one of another 52 week portrait project attempt, and you are now twelve years old! You love Dr. Who and the X-Files, feel guilty if you aren’t writing during every minute of your free time, and your favorite subject in school is Language Arts.

Zane: Right now you are four and half years old! You love building with Legos, playing imagination games, and helping mom and dad with any and all tasks — you don’t have to be asked twice to participate!

Looking forward to seeing what this year will bring.

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lingering in happiness


After rain after many days without rain,
it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees,
and the dampness there, married now to gravity,
falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground

where it will disappear–but not, of course, vanish
except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share,
and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss;
a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the mole’s tunnel;

and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years,
will feel themselves being touched.


— from “Lingering in Happiness” by Mary Oliver

lingering in happiness 1
lingering in happiness 2
lingering in happiness 3
lingering in happiness 4
lingering in happiness 5

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40 // 52

40 // 52 // Lillia
40 // 52 // Zane

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week you had two days off from school for parent-teacher conferences. For each of your classes you had to do a self-evaluation and talk about your strengths and weaknesses, and your overall performance. In just about each presentation you mentioned that your biggest weaknesses were disorganization and the fact that you hate group work. You have a keen sense of self-awareness for someone your age. I think you were overly critical of yourself, but you have always been like that. The old adage “we’re our own worst critics” certainly applies to you! Still, you are doing very well in all of your classes, and all of your teachers really seem to enjoy having you as a student. I hope you continue on this path.

Zane: This week your school also had parent-teacher conferences. Your teacher, Melissa, said that you are a joy to have in class. She said she doesn’t think she’s ever had a student that loved school as much as you do, and I tend to believe that she’s right. She said you are really right on track in your development, and had no concerns. She said that some things that still challenge you are using scissors properly, and one-to-one counting of objects. You know all of your colors, can recognize in print all of the numbers up to 8, and most of the letters of the alphabet. You can write all the letters in your name, though not in the right order — your “E” has about 8 legs on it which is just adorable. I already knew that you’re a bright little boy, but it was nice to hear it from your teacher, too.

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