Pablo's Graduated Pre-Skooooool!

After two wonderful years, Pablo has graduated from The Walther School. And, as with everything in our lives lately, this rite of passage came with its own written story. Well, a few of them–courtesy of Pablo himself.

The tradition at Walther is that the children write and illustrate their own story book in the months leading up to graduation. The contents of the book are top secret. There's a reason for the secrecy. The grad ceremony is, as you can see above, each child sitting with his or her 'rents, in front of the whole school. Where it starts to get really good is when the parents are handed their child's book, and begin to read the stories aloud to a giant audience of other parents, Walther students, siblings and grandparents–the Walther Community. It is essentially impossible to read your child's narrative, filled with detailed descriptions, points of view, opinions, and s t y l e without welling up.

Pablo's stories were–and I'm not just saying this cos I'm his papa–so beyond his years. And definitely beyond his daily verbal communication with us. It's a testament to how skilled and nurturing Gloria and the Walther crew are–and just how comfortable the kids get with them. Pablo covered our bike ride on the LA River Path, his new Waldorf School, and the fact that Grady is going to a new school next year, "I think in France. No France is a different city" and all kinds of other fascinating tales.

I am proud to write this. Proud of Pablo, Jo Ann, Grady, and all the rich, real experiences Pablo's had in life so far that have made him who he is today. Seeing his thoughts and observations put into story form really flipped our lids yesterday.

On a related note, we want to give a giant shout-out to all the Walther families, friends and teachers. The love coming our way did not stop for one second while we were at school yesterday. I'd give anything for Pablo to NOT have cancer, in exchange for people not lovin' up on us. But that's not the case–he does have cancer–and I want to say that Walther was one giant effin love bomb yesterday afternoon.

And here's the deal: it could be anyone's child, sibling, spouse, in this situation. The famiglie di Walther would have their arms out, and their hearts ready to pour love on that person, that family, that cause. It's a true community in that sense. When one part of the 'body' is hurting, other, more able parts rally to assist. And the love–the LOVE–expressed to us....I am still floating on it as I write this.

Tracy Pion and I got into an all-too-brief chat at school regarding the healing power of positive thinking. Love falls in that category. Tracy's dad is a celebrated oncologist and speaker here in LA. I don't know him, and have only heard the greatest things about him from his daughter. She said that her father talks about the mind's power to heal the body. Jo Ann and I wholly believe this. Actually, scratch that. "Belief" is an intellectual thing. We FEEL that this is the case. Meditation has been our channel for this, and it's been a huge asset in our lives. When my bro Scott was sick with cancer, he got into it, and it helped him immensely.

OK, so back to Pablo. How all this comes full circle is: Pablo and his classmates are getting something at Walther that is SO KEY in life. I know all these kids are getting it at home, from the family unit as well. By writing their stories, and sitting nestled in their parents' laps and reading their creations aloud to the safe, loving community they're coming up in is a form of POSITIVE THINKING!

This simple act of: I dreamed this story, wrote it down, and now it's being read to others is a wholly intimate act that, in my view, sits at the intersection of free will, self

There are so many bumper-sticker slogans that come to mind right now. I can't remember a good one, so I will make one up: If we want the world to be a more loving place, and we have the ability to have children, then we have to set them on the right path by giving them the chance to express themselves freely, safely, and without judgement.

I think a couple world wars coulda been avoided on those grounds?

Gloria and the Waldorf Wrecking Crew are more than 'teachers–they are gifted, selfless people, who are coming together with dozens of families to aid in the development of little life engines. These kids, and kazillions of kids everywhere, have the chance to change the world. And, with the right water sprinkled on their roots, who knows where they'll end up.

Seeing a few kids read their stories yesterday, my heart filled with these zany observations. I love being a parent, and I love other parents. We have the best job on the planet.

OK, stepping off soapbox.

We're on our way to meet Mommy at the beauty parlour. Stay tuned. The pics in the next post are going to freak your world.