Last day of school! Who wants to babysit?

Though Hazel only attends preschool two days per week, I will really -- really -- miss the time she spends there, and I know she will, too. It's been a long time since I heard the words "Have a nice summer vacation!" but I heard it fifty times this week. I have to say, it makes me a little giddy.

Hazel's totally into the party aspect. The last week has been a flurry of special projects and goodbyes and a big, end of the year "picnic celebration!", as Hazel says. She searched her closet for something appropriately festive, and this is what she settled on. It's the dress my great-grandmother made for me when I was a little older than Hazel is now, for polka dancing.



You heard me. Polka dancing! My great-grandparents, and grandparents, used to take my brother and I with them back when were very young; I think I was 4 or 5, so that would make my brother 2 or 3. We loved it. The music, the attention, the chance to get all jacked up and jump around and not get in trouble. We especially loved the dancing. My grandparents always made room for us to hold their hands and dance with them. I wish I had a picture of them to include in this post. They were, and are, so cute. They still dance, to this day! I dig that.

This cute, ruffly red number is one of the several beautiful dresses, including a bubble gum pink cowgirl dress with silver embroidery, that were made especially for me, meticulously saved, and lovingly cared for, by my grandma. Hazel wore it with white socks, which I thought dumbed the ensemble down a little, but then she made up for it in her choice of footwear: the "fancy princess" mary janes that Stefania got for $1 in Chinatown.

This is Hazel's first summer vacation. Every other summer for her has just been... warm. Last year she didn't know seasons, or school, or even what a vacation was. This year she knows that school is ending, and won't start again until the fall. This year she has a calendar she'll be counting the days on. This year she knows we are taking an actual trip, our first family vacation (excluding trips to visit family, which, pleasant though it is, it's not really a vacation). This year the prospect of summer feels like it used to, when I was a kid -- something to look forward to. Something special.