I get asked about this a lot. Max goes to year ’round school, which means he has a short summer (about 5 weeks) and longer Spring Breaks and Christmas Breaks (a month each). At first I was unnerved, since we’d just moved here, and he was in school all of a week or 2 before his month-long Spring Break commenced.

But now I really like it, because we can travel when others don’t, and we don’t have to travel when everyone does in the summer (and it’s too hot). That’s how we were able to go to Paris for a month.

Max is wrapping up his Spring Break now. We’ve done so many things this year:

• Aquarium
• Disneyland
• Play with friends
• Museum of Man
• Homework
• Crafts

In fact, I feel like we haven’t had enough time!

Anyway, that’s the scoop on year ’round school. I really love the school he goes to, The Language Academy. But that’s another post.

I met with a few mom bloggers in San Diego last week, one of whom was Mama Mary. (If you’re using Google Alerts, hi Mary!) She’s writing a book about women who have lost their fathers. It didn’t click at first but.

I fit in that category.

I don’t really talk about my dad on this blog. There’s not a reason really; when I started it, it had been a couple of years since we lost him to a brain tumor. I was focused on  raising my toddler and that’s what I wrote about.

So here goes.

I get a lot from my dad. In fact, everything about me that I didn’t get from my mom comes from him. My insatiable appetite for reading. My ability (dusty though it is) to draw (which he got from his mom). My interests in travel and other cultures. Black and white movies. Good food. Nature. Curiosity. A temper.

It’s really only right this instant that I realize how much of me comes from him.

When he was sick, we had time to say what we had to say, and not have regrets. Of course, I wish he was still here. And while they’re not exactly regrets, there are a few things I wish he’d been around to see:

• Max grow up. He knew him til age 7 months.
• All the lush plants in my backyard. He’d be able to tell me the names of all of them.
• Me as an entrepreneur. He never saw me find my passion, and it would have made him happy.
• The amazing independence my mom has found since his death. Of course, that was the cause of her finding it, but still.

So maybe I’ll talk about him more. It’s nice to bring up old memories, like of him reading Poe’s “The Raven” to me as a kid. Who does that?? It was awesome.

Or of us taking hikes. He called me his little mountain goat, a moniker I’ve passed on to Max. It’s important to me that the 3 of us go on hikes, as my memories of my family hiking are so strong.

Or when we realized we were more than father/daughter when I came home for a visit from college. As literature lovers, we became peers who loved discussing literature.

As a Buddhist, I believe in reincarnation. Explaining it to Max, I’ve simplified the concept, but he (and I) fully believe Dad came back as a butterfly. Or maybe one of the many hummingbirds that zoom by my ear every day in the backyard.

One of the many benefits to living in San Diego is that we can go to Italy any time we want. Little Italy, that is. We can get gelato, fresh pasta and espresso…and be home in time for dinner.

Today Max and I took an impromptu trip for some gelato at our favorite place. We sunned ourselves and people watched. Enjoyed watching a fleet of Italian bicyclists, complete with Italian branded racing gear, zooming by, then taking a photo under the famous Little Italy sign.

What I love is that you do feel like you’re in Europe, only surrounded by a mix of mid-century houses and modern condos, rather than centuries-old architecture.

We stopped in my favorite Italian grocery store for some frozen butternut squash ravioli. Max refrained (this time) from making comments about the stinky cheese. Mmm. Stinky cheese.

They’ve got a great farmer’s market, but we haven’t been in a while. This renewed my interest in going again.

Ahh, la vita è bella. (envision hand motions)