Leon/Link

I know almost every time I post an update I say it’s been a long time, but it’s definitely been a long time this time.

Leon started first grade at his new school last week! All the kids in the first grade G&T program are new to the school, so he wasn’t at any disadvantage. He was SO nervous the night before — new school AND riding the bus — a lot of new things! He kept asking about the logistics and confirming his bus number, room number, etc. We watched him get on the bus and then drove to meet him at his classroom for the first day. He was still a little nervous, but by the time he got off the bus in the afternoon… it was like night and day. He was SO proud of himself and confident in being able to do it again. I was so happy for him — I absolutely knew he could do it, but after that, HE knew it too.

For the past 6+ months, Leon has been absolutely obsessed with Link from Zelda. He and Minh worked through Breath of the Wild, and then Tears of the Kingdom came out, which was great because a few kids at summer camp would play it and it ended up being a good talking point for them. He’s just worked his way through the five hardcover manga books by Akira Himekawa, and he’s currently saving up his allowance for a couple Link “lego” sets. He’s decorated his sleeping area with his Zelda books, a Link drawing a friend made for him, and his Link/Bokoblin stuffies. His room also has a “Link wall” with a Link + Van Gogh poster and some Perler bead art of the Master Sword and Hylian shield that he and I made together. He likes to use a cheap plastic sword that he got at an arcade a while back, tuck it in the back of his shirt, and sneak around the house pretending he’s Link. Even though I don’t know as much about Tears of the Kingdom as he does, I love how excited he is when he talks about it. ❤️

I had major reconstructive surgery on my foot a little over five weeks ago, and I’ve been in a cast and using a knee scooter ever since. He has really enjoyed helping me — fetching me LaCroixs and opening doors for me. ☺️ And Minh taught him how to do my chores while I was on bedrest, so he’s even been loading and unloading the dishwasher (minus the knives) and putting the dishes under the cabinets where they should go. In addition to the dishes, he has an entire checklist of things to do after school before he can play, and he’s been great about getting through it without help. (They’re mostly simple things, like empty your lunchbox and hang up your backpack.)

Speaking of playing, after years of being too shy to speak to the neighbor kid (who is almost exactly a year older than him), they finally started talking to each other and made fast friends. They spend almost every afternoon either at our house or at hers. I’m so glad he gets some socialization with a kiddo who’s already pretty social — sometimes they even get in little arguments, and without any prompting from me (I’m just a nosy fly on the wall), Leon’s able to explain that he was upset and why, and then they work it out. Sometimes that’s more important than the academic stuff. ❤️