A Letter of Gratitude to All of All Seasons From A Parent Upon the Graduation of Their Second and Youngest Child

My second and last child will finish his time at All Seasons next week. There is a finality to your youngest doing something like leaving preschool for the last time. When my daughter left for kindergarten, it felt big, but not in the way that this time does. When she was leaving, I was comforted by the notion that my son would still be at All Seasons, in the Inver Glen campus Spring Room, which my daughter had just left. Now, I will be the only one in my family remaining at All Seasons. I am so happy to be there professionally, but personally, closing the early childhood chapter of my life gives me pause.

Of course it is natural to feel sadness as a wonderful time comes to an end, but as with many sad moments, there is a beauty to be celebrated as well. In my case, the sadness comes from not wanting to end something so valuable and the fear that we may never find this kind of place again. Instead of focusing on the unknown future, I am trying to focus on the present moment, and look at the beauty that was theirs and ours in the last few years. Please indulge me this moment of reflection and gratitude.

To All Seasons during the Pandemic:

Thank you for all the hard work that went into opening the Eagan site during the worst of the pandemic. We registered in the winter before the pandemic started, with no idea what would come. You reinvented yourself to provide for children and our families through those “unprecedented times.” There was one teacher in the class instead of two and there were strict rules about illnesses. There were masks and other boundaries: no parents inside the school, no visits to the seniors. You worked hard to make a joyful, thoughtful place without grandmas and grandpas, without the collaboration of previous years, and it worked. While some of the best aspects of All Seasons were off the table for safety’s sake, the children had a rich experience. They had their teacher, and they had art, and they had the caring community that only a class at All Seasons offers. And they certainly had the outdoors. It was different, but at the time, it was all we knew and it was still so much more than enough. My daughter felt loved and challenged and she thrived. Thank you.

To the Outdoor Environments:

I send my gratitude to the playgrounds, woods, pines, boulders, golf course, ponds, and gardens of both campuses. You held space for joy for my children. You transformed initial fear and frustration over a new obstacle to triumph, pride, and self-confidence. A wisdom was born in them to listen to their limits, but also take reasonable risks. Thank you for tripping them up here and there with a bumpy root or a loose rock so that they learned to get up again (and again) and keep going. They will take their resilience with them. They found new, unexplored corners of their imagination in your fallen logs, snow piles, and sands, from the tops of boulders and the shadowy depths of a possible animal home. My daughter likes to sit in one place and enter her own world with fallen leaves, pine cones, snow, and sand. My son likes to run, climb, jump, and join others in intricate imaginary scenes or hunts for Amanita Muscaria. There is room for both of them in your vast offerings. Thank you for being a place of abundance, wonder, and joy for two very different children.

To the Indoor Environments:

The classrooms, teachers, directors, and pets of both campuses provided rich shelters, full of opportunities to explore, grow, and learn in all the ways important to little bodies. Gilly the dog and Mary the chicken reminded us to be gentle and also give space. Mary taught them to say goodbye to a pet. They soaked in so much by engaging all of their senses throughout the day, engaging with friends as they built structures up and about. Rough, smooth, many, few, wet, dry, kind, helpful, encouraging, frustrating, challenging, new, familiar, alone, together, space, affection, consent, care. My children have such a foundation of important knowledge and skills upon which to build. Thank you to the adults who cared for my children, not as if they were their own, but as they are: unique and wonderful beings in the world who are important, valuable, worthy, and lovable. Thank you for holding them when they were sad, scared, or hurt. Thank you for holding them accountable when they needed to approach something or someone a different way. You listened to me, you worked with our family, and you worked to really know us. Thank you for the joy you fostered and the creativity you encouraged in all mediums: paper, clay, loose parts, and interpersonal interactions. Thank you for the compassion and care for all children that you modeled. Thank you for bringing an awareness of a world that is so much bigger, more colorful, and flavorful than just one little corner of it could ever be. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

To the Grandparents:

You are treasured. From your hellos and conversations in the elevators, to tours of your apartments, and holding hands at “Music with Mr. Gregg,” you’ve shared yourselves in small and big ways. You’ve taught my children through your very presence that older adults are multi-faceted, dynamic, and valuable members of our community. You have shown them that adults with memory loss can recognize kindness and joy and be very much in a moment with them, with or without words. You’ve taught them that company is a salve for the soul. Losing some of you in the past few years was inevitable. Through it, the learning continued. All stories come to an end, and at that time, we honor the life that was lived. We celebrate, remember, and comfort each other. It may be a time of deep feeling, and it is okay. Thank you for reminding me that small minds are capable of handling big ideas. My daughter still asks about the few seniors she was able to get to know before she went on to kindergarten. My son was lucky to be more immersed in your world and will remember dearly his favorite people. You will not be forgotten. I’m so grateful for the time my children spent with you.

To the Other Parents and Children:

Thank you for our time together on this journey. I hope that your children learned, as mine did, to connect, to care, to navigate conflicts, and to value - not judge - differences. I hope that they all remember each other fondly. Most importantly, I hope that those pivotal moments they shared settle like seeds into the fertile ground of their brains and hearts, ready to grow as they move into their next places of learning. Your words of support and looks of solidarity, when drop-offs or pick-ups were challenging, meant the world to me. The conversations on the sidewalk outside of Eagan, on the sofas when we were allowed back inside, and at the Parent Forums guided and grounded me. I am so appreciative of your openness and authenticity. I hope you feel, as I do, that our children have had the most wonderful start on this most important journey of schooling.

To All of All Seasons:

Thank you for letting us weave our threads into this small section of your tapestry. From this beginning, we take our sense of connection to school, to nature, and to all people forward with us. This is not the end. This is their spring. My children are blooming, along with the trees and the flowers, and it’s all thanks to you.