A role model for Ben.

Hi Liv,

I'm sitting in my classroom at my computer, not thinking about the papers to grade or the lessons to prepare, but about you and your request that I pick up Grace from Acting Class so that you can attend Nia.

I want you to know that I support your motion practice. I think it's just great.

Sometimes, (whether or correctly or incorrectly, I don't really know), it doesn't seem important or valuable to you that Grace spend time with me. Rather, I think, sometimes, I'm regarded as cheap daycare, useful when it helps your life, but otherwise, my time with Grace is thought of as much less important than your time with her. If I am incorrect about this, I welcome your correction.

As I drove home yesterday evening, I found myself wondering what it would seem like to you, if I asked you to make a special trip into Talent to pick Grace up, be with her for 15 minutes, before I came to spend the rest of the evening and night with her. Would it make you feel like you were being thought of as a shuttle service? Or would you be okay with that? This isn't a rhetorical question, as I realize I don't really know how you see things.

Today, EPHS has its parent teacher conferences, so I'm stuck here until 8:00pm.

However, next week, I'd like to pick Grace up from Acting Class, and have her spend the night with me. I'd like Grace to be able to spend the night with me on Mondays and Wednesdays, with you on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The weekends are already divided evenly. This would free you up to attend your Nia class, your energy work class, allow me to be more involved in her acting class, and balance our time with Grace and our responsibility.

I want you to know that I consider your influence on Grace, and the time you spend with her as valuable and important, as mine equally is.

I may be confused, but I find that each weekend, I'm not really sure which weekends we're splitting, which is yours, which is mine. Maybe we could take some time to talk about this, so we can plan ahead. If we already have had this conversation, and I've somehow botched it in my memory, I apologize.

Hope you have a fantastic day. You can picture me, all afternoon and evening, corralled in a dismal cafeteria.

-Jay