Longhouse School

Lolita, 9:00am, kids are in clean-up crews, some on breakfast duty, others cleaning the Field before our guests arrive.

Breakfast was surreal. I was on the line with the kids (who, BTW, are in clothes, not PJs) and at the head of the line was Chef Dee and some mom-and-dad volunteers. “What’s for breakfast?” “Butternut squash stew.” “Oh, great!” I mean, what planet am I on?

We line up, get a tray, and we’re asked whether we want a large or small bowl. Almost everyone seems to have opted for a large one. Chef Dee dollops out the butternut squash stew. A dad who stood next to Dee asks whether I wanted to add some roasted squash. Sure! Next, a mom volunteer: Pumpkin seeds? Honey? Getting to the end of the line and there’s Mrs. Maracle: “How about some bitter veggie medley?” What’s in it? “Oh, some radicchio, roasted kale chips, chopped broccoli rabe and collard greens. Can you take it?” Everyone else was saying they were strong, why not?—I did the same. Final stop, Charlie and Mikey! “Ms. Lolita, can we interest you in some lime or lemon juice topping? And don’t forget to come back if you are still hungry.” Sure!

No table. Everyone was sitting on their cushions, eating cross-legged, and enjoying themselves. That’s right, all aliens disguised as first and second-grade students!

That was not the start of my day, however. Last night we had the choice of setting up our sleeping bags on the lawn behind the Dewey House or inside. Almost everyone chose outside, although a few changed their minds at night. I was woken up by Lori. “Ms. Lolita, wake up, it’s time for us to run!” What? “Dei wants to come, too, she has her parents’ permission.”

I looked at my watch, 5:00am, pitch black. I used the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and got dressed in my hoodie. The girls were already waiting for me with their gym bags, so I grabbed mine. Shoot, my bathing suit didn’t fully dry overnight. Oh, well…– as Kitten would say.

Who wakes you up, Lori? “Oh, my friend Puffy. She’s in Iceland now.” You mean your puffin spirit animal? How does she speak to you? “Oh, by starryphone,” she said. Do you mean Styrofoam? “No! Starryphone.! We have all learned not to press Lori’s buttons and she does not like to be teased. Besides, I hear Vasyl Sukhomlynsky shouting at me to shut up. “It’s not your job to define imagination and reality for children of this age. They can operate on both planes at the same time!”

We got to the Field. Lori did a great job explaining to Dei all about warming up, safety, hydration, taking breaks, not being a super-hero, etc. I spoke about the difference between sprinting and long-distance running. I said the goal is not to out-race another person but to compete against our personal record.

We warmed up and off we went. Dei did just fine but I couldn’t stop glancing at Lori’s easy grace stride, soft shouldhers, no-grimace face, and erect head. We stopped for a break while the skies started to get lighter. “Do you know,” Lori asked us, “that when we look up at the stars, they are looking down at us? And when we talk about them, they are chatting about us?” Really? Uncle Vasyl nodded at me approvingly. How do you know? “Oh, Puffy told me.” Did I know that puffins also have last names? No, I didn’t. What is hers? “Her full name is ‘Puffy Star.’” That’s a beautiful name.

We ran a second loop, walked to cool down, then sat down, and hydrated ourselves. “Is it true that you have a key to the pool gate, Ms. Lolita?” Yes, I wear it around my neck. They wanted one for themselves. No!!! Consolation prize: they each grabbed one of my hands and we set off to the pool. I went to the girls locker to change but they said they had their suits underneath. I came out and jumped in; they were already swimming. It was then that I noticed, they did, in fact, have their bathing suits under their clothes—their birthday suits. “Out of the water, girls, we told you yesterday this is not a clothing-optional pool. You know better. Why are you pushing the envelope?”

“What envelope? Where?” one of them said with a loopy smile. Sadly, with our swimming interrupted, I walked them both to the Maracle RV for them to wash and change. I went inside Oliver. “I will meet you in fifteen minutes and we’ll join everyone for breakfast.