28 March 2019

Iddy, you are almost done with Light Academy, and you have been working so hard on your studies. Sometimes I help you with math in the evenings. Lately you have been working with our neighbor, Brian, who loves math. You are really good at anything involving something you can actually see, like geometry or spacial reasoning. On school nights we read together. Right now we are reading Michelle Obama's book, "Becoming." We are listening to it on audio. It's fun to hear it read in her own voice. Both her and Barak Obama are great examples of not letting your past dictate your future. They are people that live by hope, with a desire to change the world for the better, and a belief that each person can make a difference. I see these values so much in you, too.

We have really read quite a few books together now:

2 books from the Chronicles of Nick series
Dorothy Must Die
5 books from the Chronicles of Narnia series
(then I finally caught on to the fact that fantasy is not your thing)
Bruchko (we both loved this one)
Born a Crime (our favorite)
The Giver
Of Mice and Men
Impossible Odds

You still wash the dishes for us so faithfully every night, but you really want someone to be in there with you. Sometimes I dry the dishes while you wash so that you don't have to do it alone. You like to turn on your music while you wash. You also always ask if I need help when I am cooking dinner.

You took a trip to Kisumu in February to see your mom and brothers and Israel. I think it was a good trip for you, but it is also hard for you to navigate the needs of your family and how much they rely on you. I know that when you get older and have a job you will find the right way to help them. You are especially concerned for your little brother, Gift, and want to make sure that he is taken care of.

You and Papa are so incredibly close. When he is down, you know it immediately, and you have a hard time being happy if he isn't. You play basketball together in the evenings, and often stay up late talking at night. You like to be with him, and you absorb a lot of the things that he says. I think that he has shaped you in so many ways, but mostly just in the way that you observe him serving and loving others.