Adam and Christ: 12/02/22

Dear 36 year old Adam,

I've just turned 35. The mask mandates ended some time this year although plenty of people still mask which I think is a net good for our society. This past school year was normal I had an issue with a student eloping which was a new experience for me. This summer Brian Travis and I did some hiking and camping in the Olympic Mountains. We had a boyo's weekend in Chicago this year. Alan moved to Orlando and I was able to visit him this summer. As far as the 'dream team' at the school it did split up. We lost Hendye, Alexis, and West. This year seems like we may lose some more. Last year I talked about my brother becoming a parent and my parents becoming grandparents. This year I also became a parent, I know talk about burying the lead. But hell 36 year old Adam has been a parent longer than I have so it's not much of a surprise on your end. Brian and Courtney moved to Columbus which brings the Columbus squad numbers up. He lives a couple blocks from Travis which I think is good considering fatherhood has taken up all of my fall. Tem and I went to Zambia last December, Cancun in January, and Costa Rica for spring break.

Things I'm doing now:
Tem and I are still at the place on Monroe. This is my sixth year teaching kindergarten. Completely back in the classroom, no masks, no virtual classes. This school year started with a teacher strike, which was a whole new experience. It ended is basically minimal changes to the contract which was pretty sad. I worked the first quarter and then my son, Abel Moyer was born October 12th and I've been on maternity leave ever since. I'll be back after Saturnalia break. I still hit the gym in the mornings three times a week I'm still reading books from reading list we made although much much slower than I'd hoped. Tem and I did have that kid. She got pregnant in January and he was born in October. Man I learned a lot about pregnancy, birth, and newborns. Still haven't made it to New Zealand or India although both are open we have the kid and I'm not sure about that long of a flight. We'll see. I did become a dad however I haven't forced everyone to call me dAdam. Although it is encouraged. The sleep isn't as bad as I imagined probably because I prepared for the worst. I am constantly worried though the SIDS fear is very very real. But damn Tem is a great mom and her family has been a huge support. My parents refused to get a few shots to meet their first grandson which sucks but hopefully the time will fly and they'll meet him soon enough. All of my friends rushed to get the shots and have come over in masks to meet him. After the 12th he'll have some immunity and they will be able to hold him which I'm excited for. The man bun is dead although now I'm sort of at a loss for how to style it now. I don't want to get stuck in the same style forever hopefully you figure that out.

Things I hope you're doing:
I hope you're school year is going well. You're reading lots of books. I hope you see Travis, Brian, Alan, and the boys fairly regularly. I hope you're an even better dad than this year (we both know the first year of a human's life isn't exactly eventful.) I hope Abel sees his niece plenty. I hope you got a good skincare routine going wearing lots of sunscreen, drinking water, and getting 8 hours of sleep. I hope you're still going to the gym maybe even doing yoga to stretch. We finally got that primary care doctor figured out so I'm a real adult now. I hope you figured out if you want to stay in the classroom or climb the district ladder where all the funding is being misused. I hope you get lots of time with Abel and you've found a balance of work and home. I hope Tem also manages to get some sleep and time to be her social self.

Things I've learned since turning 34:
Honestly this is probably going to be one of my weakest letters to myself because of how tired I am. The kid is not even 2 months old and I have to be up in 6 hours. I really need to slowly write these during the year so this doesn't happen again because I love seeing these and spending time with myself with reflection and vision. But for now I'm going to share some links to some things I've literally learned this year from all the damn parenting books. That was my year, prepping and nesting for this kid and now that he's here I'm so excited to see who he becomes to meet him. I mean for the moment it feels pretty one sided.