Bilingual? Maybe, Baby.

I wonder often if by moving here, William is missing too much of what beautiful Sarasota has to offer, e.g., terrific kids' theater, skate parks, sailing camps, the Ringing Museum and even a Circus camp. But it's all worth it because he'll be bilingual, right?

People get excited when they remind me of the advantages William will have when he is fully bilingual. In this shrinking, globally connected world, another language will bolster any career the kid chooses. He'll be a better communicator. All true. ( But, whispers the cynic in me ... being bilingual could also mean he'll just be able to sell drugs on both sides of the border!)

Having your kid become bilingual also presents a potential problem for an only semi-bilingual, middle-aged mom. I am now in a constant race to keep ahead of my son in the Spanish department, and he's fast approaching the pass-me-by point. If only I can become fluent, I'll know that when he says he told his posse how great a mom I am, I'll hear that what he really called me is an an evil, wicked dictator.

My friend Jenni, who has four kids, refers to fluency as the "F" word. Now she's been in Central America for four years and has a way younger brain than mine , so if Jenni sees fluency as an unbeatable dragon, I'm in deep doo doo. Or, as we say in Spanish, "mucha mierda!"

Undoubtedly our move has provided a simpler childhood. On the left are posted photos of a lovely spot our friend, Farmer Henry took Larry and William, not 40 minutes from our house. Old fashioned fun from another decade. I must say, it does beat the hell out of a Gameboy.