Me and Ben, Lake Merritt, photo by Bethany, Canon Rebel Xti

Dear Ben,

Hello adorable boy! I miss you already in anticipation of my week away at Squam. (Insert little heartache for mama) The good news is that you have a rotating roster of your favorite people that will be here to play with you and care for you. You are going to have so much fun! But for those moments when you’re wondering, where the heck are mama and dada? I just wanted to tell you that we will be back very soon and at that very moment that you are thinking that question, we are thinking about how much we love you.

I will be teaching my first class Ben! I have never taught before and I am excited and nervous… Jen and Jonatha will be with me though, so how bad can it go? A bit of advice, if you are doing something scary for the first time, it’s a good idea to have a coupla pals with you. Just sayin.

I will be going to something like girl camp, complete with art classes and bonfires and music and lots of laughter. It is going to be the life-shifting, creative-sparking kind of fun… my favorite kind. I will show you lots of photos when I come home.

And you won’t believe this, but Dada is going to be in the Venice Biennale this year! He will be going to Venice, Italy and will be honored for some of his amazing art projects. This is a big deal for him and a big celebration of all of the work he’s done over the years. Go dada!

Did I mention how adorable you are these days? You have some new obsessions worth noting: bikes.
You call them “butts.” You talk about butts constantly. Mama butt. Dada butt. Ben butt. And the ball love affair is a constant. You would sleep in a sea of balls if you could. Today at the toy store, you picked out a ball that you wouldn’t let go of. It was huge and bright lavender and had pink butterflies all over it. It was funny to watch myself pick up the more boyish, blue soccer style ball and offer that one up, and of course you were like Whatevs mom! This one is way better. And you were right.

Oh, another obsession: Elmo.
Yep. I said it.
We hesitated for a long time to bring him into our home, but I found a used dvd and couldn’t resist. I think I had some sick curiosity if every kid was crazy for Elmo or if you would be immune to his high pitched voice. Within minutes of watching that show you were already saying “Elmo.” It was a little scary. Then you talked about him constantly for weeks. Every time you got up, Elmo! At the park you would try to leave and go home to watch, you guessed it, Elmo! When you were getting your diaper changed, you would ask the inevitable question: Elmo? You were way obsessed.

So we took Elmo away for a while and you were VERY very upset. Every time we said no Elmo, you would cry and cry and cry… We told you that Elmo was on vacation. And even though you eventually made peace with it, weeks later you still talked about him. You’d wake up from a nap and shake your head and say, “No Elmo, No Elmo.” We were even hiking once in the woods and you pointed up a hill and asked, “Elmo?”

Anyway, we totally cracked Ben. We couldn’t stand it anymore and now Elmo is back from vacation. And you are deliriously happy again. Your little red friend is back! We even ordered a set of dvds. (This is one of those moments Ben when you think you’re going to be one kind of parent and you end up another kind.) Seriously dude, whatever brings you that much joy, who am I to stand in the way of it?

Anyway, thank goodness you still like guitars too.

Oh, and one more thing Ben. You are totally a ladies man. When you see the girls at the park you walk right up to them and try to give them a hug, or you try to back up into them and sit on their lap. You need to work on your approach, but I think you’ve got a good chance. You’re a very handsome little dude.

Anyway Ben, mama is way tired and has to pack.

I love you to the moon and back my love.
I love you more than you love Elmo.
And I know you know that that’s a whole heck of a lot.