Today is Isaac's first day at a new preschool, and I am filled with a cacophony of emotions.
Sadness about leaving the old preschool which Isaac and I both loved.
Frustration at the inaction which led to our departure.
Hopefulness about this new school.
Thankfulness because Isaac knows one of the boys in this class.
Annoyance that I may not receive any tuition back from the old school.
Blessed by how God has worked out the details such that Isaac can still attend preschool even if we are not reimbursed.
Guilt about removing Isaac from a familiar place with familiar people.
Confusion about how to deal with my schedule now that it has turned upside down.
Residual anxiety from two weeks of agonizing about this situation.
Worry that I did not make the right choice.
Confidence that this was the only rational option.
More worry.
Repeat.
Briefly, the situation is this: For awhile, I've been uncomfortable with certain aspects of Isaac's former school. This discomfort was not without warrant, and last year promises were made to parents that the situation would be rectified. It was on the basis of these promises that I enrolled Isaac in the program for this year. However, the changes were not been made and it recently became apparent that plans were moving slowly, if at all.
At the beginning of this school year, I tried to shake off my unease. After all, all the other parents seemed nonchalant so perhaps I was over-dramatizing the risks. I do tend to be hyper-vigilant [Jon, laughing: you think?!], but at least I have some self-awareness about this and can generally (sometimes) take my emotions down a notch before acting. But my unease didn't dissipate over the weeks, so I finally discussed my concerns with Jon. He has the knack of seeing things clearly and bringing me back to reality. So I was surprised, and a bit dismayed, when he shared my concerns and said we should act. So I double checked my facts and talked it over with a friend who also tends to be level headed, and could offer a more objective opinion. She agreed with Jon.
Well, nuts. Obviously I now had to do something, and all roads led to monumental efforts on my part. I needed to confront the school administration (ack), as well as make a decision regarding Isaac's future. After all, other preschool slots were filling up fast.
To make a long story short, after much prayer and thought, I did both of those things. And they were very very hard. In the end I removed Isaac from his school, and it has been a heart-breaking decision. I know it's tempting to think of this year as "just preschool," but I think that's a disingenuous attitude. Yes, this is one year in the life of a small boy but I would argue it's an important year. At this age, routines and familiarity are so very important. Feeling secure in one's surroundings frees up a young mind to learn both the ABCs as well as foundational social skills. And from his perspective it must seem like I ripped that security away. It was still the right decision, but also the worst.
What gives me hope is what seems to be working out at the new school. I chose this particular school because Isaac has a friend in the class. Furthermore, I will be looking after this friend a couple of mornings a week, which will provide just enough income to cover the cost of Isaac's tuition (even if I don't get reimbursed). This arrangement is an answer to prayer for both his mom, and me.
So God has provided, which I think is the moral of this story. He provided what was needed, when it was needed. No more, no less. This theme also applies to what is happening at Isaac's former preschool. After I let them know that I was taking Isaac out, the wheels of change sped up. Maybe a coincidence, but I'd like to think we had something to do with it. Removing a child from a program makes a bigger statement than never enrolling them in the first place. We may lose all that tuition money, but I have faith it is for a good cause.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Nine schools, seven states, two countries. So far.
This week I spent most of my time working on the pile of things I have ignored for many weeks. (Some of these are literal piles located on the floor of my daughter's room. Of course, she views them as motifs.) Until recently, all our efforts were focused on Jon's applications for faculty positions. And now they're submitted, and we're feeling a little spent. Applications are not only an intellectual exercise, but for me also an emotional one. In the spring we felt pretty strongly that it was time to begin this process, but we have no indication of what the outcome will be. And even less information on when it will be. Jon is an excellent candidate, in a field riddled with excellent candidates. Candidates who did not spend some of their post-graduate lives in industry (which is not considered a plus in many disciplines - their loss). And to add to the difficulty, there weren't a ton of openings in his particular niche. I say all this, not to bemoan our present state, but to highlight the fact that securing a faculty position will be a miraculous event. That is, if/when this happens, you can know a miracle has occurred.
So in the interim, we are waiting. We're not sure how long we have to wait, or when the waiting will be over, or what exactly we're waiting for, or what we should do during the wait. I guess we are also learning contentment.
More interesting, is that the kids are back in school. Anna now takes the bus, which I was hesitant about at first. Happily, however, busing turns out to be a blessing for everyone. For me, it's easier to get everyone out the door and down the street, compared to out the door and in the car. For her, it's created a positive in-between time, with the commute helping the transition between her at-home self and her at-school self. [Does this mean she is most herself on the bus? Oh, to be a bug on the windshield.] School itself is also going fine. Math, spatial reasoning, and art continue to be her strong suits, and reading continues to improve. Like many elementary-age kids, she's in that tough spot, where her verbal comprehension far exceeds her written comprehension. I know I would rather read The Wizard of Oz than Hop on Pop, and so would she. So, we do both.
In fact, we're more intentional about incorporating homework and and formal reading into our family time this year, and it's been great on many levels. After dinner, Isaac does some preschool-level work with one parent, while Anna completes her assigned homework with the other. This includes math, reading, and some extra vocabulary stuff we've thrown in. Nothing ground-breaking, we've just made this a formal priority. One of the consequences is a commitment to avoid extracurricular activities after dinner time. This has reduced our after-school options, considerably, but it's worth it for us. I really look forward to this focused time with the kids, and I think they do, too.
As for Isaac, he does not want to go to school. No surprise there. He is too busy playing! Such a busy busy little man. But he is learning a lot, and is always in high spirits when I pick him up. Unlike Anna, for whom the preschool days all seemed a blur, he is more than happy to recount the various things he did and the various people he did them with. He seems to have a knack for names, and I suspect he will be an early reader. Not that I'm nudging him in that direction, or anything. As soon as the kids learn to read, I'm going to have to be a lot more careful about the news sites I read (since our computer is in the center of the action at our house), and the Christmas lists I leave around. And I can hardly wait to explain the billboards advertising adult stores. Ugh. Early reading is like early walking. A mixed blessing.
The one extra-curricular we are doing is soccer. Both kids are enrolled, and one of them loves it. Guess who? I think soccer is a great sport - lots of running, learning how to work with a team, and having to attend to the ball. Alas, Anna is one of the less experienced players on her team, so that's provided all the struggles you might expect. Jon's been coaching her, and there's been much improvement, but I don't think we'll do this again next year. I just don't have it in me to continue dragging her to the games. At least I bought her blue soccer shoes, so Isaac will eventually get to wear them. Swimming lessons may be the next thing we do. It's an important, potentially life-saving skill, and may be worth the trouble. But before that, there's still a couple more months of soccer to get through.
So in the interim, we are waiting. We're not sure how long we have to wait, or when the waiting will be over, or what exactly we're waiting for, or what we should do during the wait. I guess we are also learning contentment.
More interesting, is that the kids are back in school. Anna now takes the bus, which I was hesitant about at first. Happily, however, busing turns out to be a blessing for everyone. For me, it's easier to get everyone out the door and down the street, compared to out the door and in the car. For her, it's created a positive in-between time, with the commute helping the transition between her at-home self and her at-school self. [Does this mean she is most herself on the bus? Oh, to be a bug on the windshield.] School itself is also going fine. Math, spatial reasoning, and art continue to be her strong suits, and reading continues to improve. Like many elementary-age kids, she's in that tough spot, where her verbal comprehension far exceeds her written comprehension. I know I would rather read The Wizard of Oz than Hop on Pop, and so would she. So, we do both.
In fact, we're more intentional about incorporating homework and and formal reading into our family time this year, and it's been great on many levels. After dinner, Isaac does some preschool-level work with one parent, while Anna completes her assigned homework with the other. This includes math, reading, and some extra vocabulary stuff we've thrown in. Nothing ground-breaking, we've just made this a formal priority. One of the consequences is a commitment to avoid extracurricular activities after dinner time. This has reduced our after-school options, considerably, but it's worth it for us. I really look forward to this focused time with the kids, and I think they do, too.
As for Isaac, he does not want to go to school. No surprise there. He is too busy playing! Such a busy busy little man. But he is learning a lot, and is always in high spirits when I pick him up. Unlike Anna, for whom the preschool days all seemed a blur, he is more than happy to recount the various things he did and the various people he did them with. He seems to have a knack for names, and I suspect he will be an early reader. Not that I'm nudging him in that direction, or anything. As soon as the kids learn to read, I'm going to have to be a lot more careful about the news sites I read (since our computer is in the center of the action at our house), and the Christmas lists I leave around. And I can hardly wait to explain the billboards advertising adult stores. Ugh. Early reading is like early walking. A mixed blessing.
The one extra-curricular we are doing is soccer. Both kids are enrolled, and one of them loves it. Guess who? I think soccer is a great sport - lots of running, learning how to work with a team, and having to attend to the ball. Alas, Anna is one of the less experienced players on her team, so that's provided all the struggles you might expect. Jon's been coaching her, and there's been much improvement, but I don't think we'll do this again next year. I just don't have it in me to continue dragging her to the games. At least I bought her blue soccer shoes, so Isaac will eventually get to wear them. Swimming lessons may be the next thing we do. It's an important, potentially life-saving skill, and may be worth the trouble. But before that, there's still a couple more months of soccer to get through.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Thursday already?
Things have felt a little out of control lately. This is probably why I went to Target and bought a bunch of organizational bins for our dining room. This room has become our defacto art center, although it looks more like a disaster than a center. Anyway, if I can't control my life, at least I can organize the markers and glue.
One of our recent challenges is simply a full schedule. I volunteered to help at our church's VBS, which would have been enough in itself, but I somehow scheduled a bunch of other things at the same time. Jon was also absent at a conference somewhere in there. A conference in Las Vegas, engendering more sympathy than anything else. It is July, after all, and Vegas is not the sort of city either of us is fond of. Jon's main observations about his time there: (1) there were a lot of children considering the lack of kid-friendly activities, (2) Cirque du Soleil has basically taken over, (3) Caesar's Palace is indeed palatial, (4) food is expensive, but actually good, (5) it is strange to look out the window at 6 a.m. and see empty streets save for a van driving in circles, with "Girls Girls Girls" written on the side.
We were both happy when he returned.
Back to VBS, which was quite a bit of fun. This is a church that really values its children and their education. Many people were involved in the program, regardless of whether they had children attending. This contributed to the excellent organization, since responsibilities could be spread out. There were also a lot of teens involved, and they displayed great maturity and a willingness to take on responsibility. I think they're excellent role models for my kids.
The downside of the week was some of the belief systems that came to light. I'm going to write pretty freely here, since no one from our church reads this blog and I don't think that will change in the near future. The short story is that they seem to ascribe to an aggressive form of young-earth creationism. For the uninitiated, this is the belief that the earth was created by God in six days, and is only a few thousand years old. Now to be clear, it is not this teaching per se that I find troublesome. Rather, it is the conflation of a young earth theory with "science".
My thinking is this: if you believe God created the world in six days, embrace it! Go for it wholeheartedly, without reservation! Treat it as the miracle it is. Because surely this would count as a miracle. And what is a miracle? It is an act of God that transcends space, time, physics, science, etc. In other words, you don't need science to explain it. Let science be. Don't feel like you have to justify your belief in a miracle, because that will lead to very sketchy "science" and (il)logical mental gymnastics that can cause migraines.
Furthermore, don't tell me that because I believe in a God of patience and attention to detail, a God that used billions of years to ever-so-carefully create the universe, that I am on the brink of denying the truth of the bible.
And do not tell me that dinosaurs were on the ark. Do. Not. Go. There.
This was a stressful discovery about our church, and we're wondering what to do about it. There's certainly an argument for letting it go, particularly if creation doesn't come up in the kids' curriculum. In general, I really like their overall theology, teachings, etc. On the other hand, the view they seem to espouse is so aggressive that I wonder if they'd be open to us becoming members. So, we're thinking about next steps.
It was also that week that I had a follow up visit with my doctor. You may recall that in my last post I mentioned that I had some blood tests done, due to my illness while on vacation. Well, turns out they were not all negative. So, I am referred to a specialist who is booked until November. I really wish I was the sort of person who could just let information like this slide off my back. After all, the results were "not terrible" and there's nothing life-threatening going on.
But, I am not that person and so I googled the vague blood test results listed on the referral. This was a stupid stupid thing to do, but I did it. (You would, too. Admit it!) What will probably happen is that the doctor will take a wait-and-see approach, which will be unsatisfying. On one hand, a diagnosis would simply suck. On the other hand, if I'm being completely honest, it would be nice to have a label to hang my various symptoms on. Things that started over the winter and continue to be bothersome now. "Not terrible," of course.
All of these events have been happening against the backdrop of one big (happy!) thing, which is that Jon is gearing up to apply for academic jobs. We've really felt a pull in this direction, and have tried to be prayerful about it. So, there's been a lot of writing and thinking about teaching, research, etc. I feel strongly that Jon would thrive in the academic environment, and he could really make an impact. Not just through his research, but through his mentoring of students. Although he has had limited opportunity to practice this skill, he's also a pretty good teacher. He'll start applying to job postings within a month, and we have some strong ideas about where we'd like to end up. But it's really completely out of our hands. So in the meantime I'm organizing markers.
One of our recent challenges is simply a full schedule. I volunteered to help at our church's VBS, which would have been enough in itself, but I somehow scheduled a bunch of other things at the same time. Jon was also absent at a conference somewhere in there. A conference in Las Vegas, engendering more sympathy than anything else. It is July, after all, and Vegas is not the sort of city either of us is fond of. Jon's main observations about his time there: (1) there were a lot of children considering the lack of kid-friendly activities, (2) Cirque du Soleil has basically taken over, (3) Caesar's Palace is indeed palatial, (4) food is expensive, but actually good, (5) it is strange to look out the window at 6 a.m. and see empty streets save for a van driving in circles, with "Girls Girls Girls" written on the side.
We were both happy when he returned.
Back to VBS, which was quite a bit of fun. This is a church that really values its children and their education. Many people were involved in the program, regardless of whether they had children attending. This contributed to the excellent organization, since responsibilities could be spread out. There were also a lot of teens involved, and they displayed great maturity and a willingness to take on responsibility. I think they're excellent role models for my kids.
The downside of the week was some of the belief systems that came to light. I'm going to write pretty freely here, since no one from our church reads this blog and I don't think that will change in the near future. The short story is that they seem to ascribe to an aggressive form of young-earth creationism. For the uninitiated, this is the belief that the earth was created by God in six days, and is only a few thousand years old. Now to be clear, it is not this teaching per se that I find troublesome. Rather, it is the conflation of a young earth theory with "science".
My thinking is this: if you believe God created the world in six days, embrace it! Go for it wholeheartedly, without reservation! Treat it as the miracle it is. Because surely this would count as a miracle. And what is a miracle? It is an act of God that transcends space, time, physics, science, etc. In other words, you don't need science to explain it. Let science be. Don't feel like you have to justify your belief in a miracle, because that will lead to very sketchy "science" and (il)logical mental gymnastics that can cause migraines.
Furthermore, don't tell me that because I believe in a God of patience and attention to detail, a God that used billions of years to ever-so-carefully create the universe, that I am on the brink of denying the truth of the bible.
And do not tell me that dinosaurs were on the ark. Do. Not. Go. There.
This was a stressful discovery about our church, and we're wondering what to do about it. There's certainly an argument for letting it go, particularly if creation doesn't come up in the kids' curriculum. In general, I really like their overall theology, teachings, etc. On the other hand, the view they seem to espouse is so aggressive that I wonder if they'd be open to us becoming members. So, we're thinking about next steps.
It was also that week that I had a follow up visit with my doctor. You may recall that in my last post I mentioned that I had some blood tests done, due to my illness while on vacation. Well, turns out they were not all negative. So, I am referred to a specialist who is booked until November. I really wish I was the sort of person who could just let information like this slide off my back. After all, the results were "not terrible" and there's nothing life-threatening going on.
But, I am not that person and so I googled the vague blood test results listed on the referral. This was a stupid stupid thing to do, but I did it. (You would, too. Admit it!) What will probably happen is that the doctor will take a wait-and-see approach, which will be unsatisfying. On one hand, a diagnosis would simply suck. On the other hand, if I'm being completely honest, it would be nice to have a label to hang my various symptoms on. Things that started over the winter and continue to be bothersome now. "Not terrible," of course.
All of these events have been happening against the backdrop of one big (happy!) thing, which is that Jon is gearing up to apply for academic jobs. We've really felt a pull in this direction, and have tried to be prayerful about it. So, there's been a lot of writing and thinking about teaching, research, etc. I feel strongly that Jon would thrive in the academic environment, and he could really make an impact. Not just through his research, but through his mentoring of students. Although he has had limited opportunity to practice this skill, he's also a pretty good teacher. He'll start applying to job postings within a month, and we have some strong ideas about where we'd like to end up. But it's really completely out of our hands. So in the meantime I'm organizing markers.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The ants go marching
"It goes by many names: The Crisis, The Dark [Days], The Walking Plague, as well as newer and more 'hip' titles such as World War [B] or [B] War One. I personally dislike this last moniker as it implies an inevitable B War Two. For me, it will always be The [Bug] War, and while many may protest the scientific accuracy of the word [bug], they will be hard-pressed to discover a more globally accepted term for the creatures that [invaded my kitchen.]" - Excerpt from World War [B]
Maybe I'm overstating the case here, but the discovery that ants had a tidy little provision line set up in our kitchen was an unwelcome discovery when we returned home last week. Since then, there's been constant skirmishes and battles. Alas, winter is nowhere in sight.
Ants were not the only unhappy surprise. We arrived in the midst of a serious heat wave, which here means "sticky, oppressive mugginess with suffocating temperatures above 95 degrees." Needless to say, the kids and I took advantage of the pool most days and I was thankful for the a/c every day. Although the pool wasn't exactly cool it was at least colder than the hot tub, which strangely had people in it every day that we were present. A little weird, yes?
Other random thoughts from the week:
- Regardless of whether the temperature is +40 C or -40 C, the effect on my life is about the same. We tend to stay inside, although outside activities are not entirely out of the question; the car is a horrid place to climb into; the time required to put on sunscreen versus snow suit is about the same.
- Traveling back to Denver after our ranch excursion, I could not believe that we were not driving straight to our old house. How could we not be living there? I did not want to leave CO. But having been back in our MD house for a bit, I am in fact happy to be in my own space. I am enjoying "home," wherever that is.
- Simply gorgeous thunderstorms visited us this week. Some with the moon back-lighting the cumulus clouds. Some with constant cloud-to-cloud lightning. Some with impressive streaks to the ground. All eluding my attempts to photograph them.
- We saw our first movie as a family: Despicable Me 2. This was a highly anticipated event in our family, due largely to the minions. The kids love those little guys and we may coordinate our Halloween costumes accordingly. My overall review: 3/5 stars. Held the kids attention more or less, but I was counting the minutes about mid-way through.
I'm more excited about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. So many puns! And that leek joke gets me every time.
- In my last post, I mentioned that my altitude sickness was pretty bad while we were in the west. In truth, it was really bad and lasted beyond the duration of the trip. So I visited the doctor and had some tests run, and they all came back normal. While good news for my overall health, it also means I can expect to be decimated whenever we go back out west. Perhaps I am showing my age?
- It's cherry season, so my addiction is in full bloom. I suppose someone needs to save me from myself, but I really don't want them to.
- Speaking of food, my mom introduced me to this Yonanas thing. So far, I've managed to avoid going out and buying one myself, but I think I may cave today. It's kind of fantastic. Not as fantastic as cherries, but still pretty good.
- This week my kids neither want to visit the library, nor pick fruit at one of the local orchards. Obviously, we are doing something terribly wrong.
- Lately, my kids love nothing better in the evening than to curl up with a bowl of popcorn and watch Stephen Hawking pontificate on life, the universe, and everything. Obviously, we are doing something terribly right.
Maybe I'm overstating the case here, but the discovery that ants had a tidy little provision line set up in our kitchen was an unwelcome discovery when we returned home last week. Since then, there's been constant skirmishes and battles. Alas, winter is nowhere in sight.
Ants were not the only unhappy surprise. We arrived in the midst of a serious heat wave, which here means "sticky, oppressive mugginess with suffocating temperatures above 95 degrees." Needless to say, the kids and I took advantage of the pool most days and I was thankful for the a/c every day. Although the pool wasn't exactly cool it was at least colder than the hot tub, which strangely had people in it every day that we were present. A little weird, yes?
Other random thoughts from the week:
- Regardless of whether the temperature is +40 C or -40 C, the effect on my life is about the same. We tend to stay inside, although outside activities are not entirely out of the question; the car is a horrid place to climb into; the time required to put on sunscreen versus snow suit is about the same.
- Traveling back to Denver after our ranch excursion, I could not believe that we were not driving straight to our old house. How could we not be living there? I did not want to leave CO. But having been back in our MD house for a bit, I am in fact happy to be in my own space. I am enjoying "home," wherever that is.
- Simply gorgeous thunderstorms visited us this week. Some with the moon back-lighting the cumulus clouds. Some with constant cloud-to-cloud lightning. Some with impressive streaks to the ground. All eluding my attempts to photograph them.
- We saw our first movie as a family: Despicable Me 2. This was a highly anticipated event in our family, due largely to the minions. The kids love those little guys and we may coordinate our Halloween costumes accordingly. My overall review: 3/5 stars. Held the kids attention more or less, but I was counting the minutes about mid-way through.
I'm more excited about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. So many puns! And that leek joke gets me every time.
- In my last post, I mentioned that my altitude sickness was pretty bad while we were in the west. In truth, it was really bad and lasted beyond the duration of the trip. So I visited the doctor and had some tests run, and they all came back normal. While good news for my overall health, it also means I can expect to be decimated whenever we go back out west. Perhaps I am showing my age?
- It's cherry season, so my addiction is in full bloom. I suppose someone needs to save me from myself, but I really don't want them to.
- Speaking of food, my mom introduced me to this Yonanas thing. So far, I've managed to avoid going out and buying one myself, but I think I may cave today. It's kind of fantastic. Not as fantastic as cherries, but still pretty good.
- This week my kids neither want to visit the library, nor pick fruit at one of the local orchards. Obviously, we are doing something terribly wrong.
- Lately, my kids love nothing better in the evening than to curl up with a bowl of popcorn and watch Stephen Hawking pontificate on life, the universe, and everything. Obviously, we are doing something terribly right.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Floods, fires, friends, family
Anyway, we just returned home after a whirlwind 3 1/2 weeks. The kids and I were in Canada for a couple of weeks (Alberta and Saskatchewan), meeting up with Jon at DIA. We stayed in the Denver area for one night, then it was an early start to New Mexico, near Taos. There we gathered with Jon's extended family for a few nights. Next up, a drive to a dude ranch near Durango for four nights with Jon's immediate family to celebrate his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Finally, back to the Denver area for two nights, then hopped a plane to BWI.
So let's do the numbers:
Four flights
Four airports,
Eleven flight hours (taxiing not included)
Five beds
Thirty hours on the road
Two provinces
Two states
Three family reunions
One giant dinosaur (more on that later)
Given the velocity of it all, I'm not sure vacation is the appropriate descriptor. But enjoyment is in there, as is refreshing, and suspension of work. The logistics were difficult, but it was a good trip. I was sad when it was over.
In light of the scope of the past month, I'm taking a cue from my brother-in-law who chose to describe his vacation in terms of memorable moments, instead of favorite ones.
Here are a few memories that will stand out:
1) Floods. The night the kids and I landed in Calgary, the heavens opened and flooded out downtown, the zoo, the Stampede grounds, and our favorite camping spot in the mountains. This was/is a major event in the history of this city. My folks' house was unaffected, so it was hard to fathom the devastation that was occurring so close. Among the notable details was the difference in how the local authorities handled the devastation, compared to what one might expect in the U.S. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I can't imagine U.S. authorities denying homeowners access to their houses until welcome centers and hardware stores were opened. Additionally, I seriously doubt American authorities would enter private citizens' homes to remove any guns before allowing people back. On the other hand, no one was abandoned in a conference center.
2) Fires. While Calgary was flooded out, large portions of the southwest were on fire. I checked the Denver Post regularly for updated area and road closures, wondering if our travel plans would be affected by the now routine mega-fires. Thankfully, all was well in our travel vicinity.
3) More floods. I drove through the worst rainstorm of my life... in Denver. To be clear, Denver certainly gets downpours, but they usually don't last as long as an hour. And I'm usually not driving a low-lying hybrid car when they happen. And I generally don't worry about floating away in a river that used to be Wadsworth Blvd.
4) Prayer. I met with a couple of friends from my CO prayer group one morning. We sat outside at a cafe, caught up, and prayed for each other. I really miss that.
5) Family. Saskatoon is a homey city, surrounded by a rolling prairie ocean, and filled with my extended family. What I will remember is their hospitality, despite my absence from the region for over a decade. I will also remember the heat, the paddling pools, and Anna driving a team of Welsh horses.
In New Mexico, we met up with Jon's extended family. What I will remember is the lack of superficial conversations. I will also remember running four miles around the lake and not dying from altitude sickness. I think the kids will remember the elaborate city they created in the woods, running from Ruzers, and being rated on millinery by the Mad Hatter's chaotic bench of judges.
6) Firsts.
- Isaac's first movie in an actual theater, with Uncle T and Miss Jean. (Will he will remember that it was Monster's University?)
- Anna's first time riding horses. At the dude ranch she was assigned Gidget, a golden horse with a braided name, a gentle soul, and indifference at Anna's inability to remember her name. I treasure the memory of my girl decked out in a pink western shirt and pink cowboy hat, riding her horse forward and backward and all over the place. I could barely get my horse to stop and go.
- Anna catching her first (two) fish
- Isaac's first boat ride
- Mommy (and Anna) tubing for the first time. Turns out tubing is fun, which was... unexpected.
7) Falling. My sister-in-law was bucked off her skittish horse the first day. But she got back on right away, and rode every day since. I surely would not have done the same.
8) Food. At the ranch we enjoyed gourmet meals constantly. But what I really enjoyed was the hour before dinner, drinking mojitos on the deck, watching the plethora of hummingbirds, and chatting with family.
9) Altitude. We've gone from sea level to CO before and it always had an effect. Usually Jon would get nausea for 1-3 days and I would feel anemic. This time we were slammed: flu-like symptoms, violent chills, aching joints, exhaustion, etc. But in terms of illness most of the news was very good. No one came down with a virus, and the kids were seemingly unaffected by the altitude. Perhaps Jon and I were simply showing our age.
10) Dinosaurs. On our way to Saskatchewan we stopped in Drumheller, Canada's paleontological mecca. Although we didn't visit the museum, we made the most of the visitor center. The kids and I climbed to the top of their resident T-Rex and looked out the mouth. We were also attacked by swarms of mosquitoes, so we didn't stay long.
11) Patience. We visited Calaway Park with my parents, and Anna busted out her super-hero skill: waiting in lines. That girl can wait in lines like no child I've seen. She went on every scary ride she could find, regardless of the wait. Luckily my Dad was there and rode them all with her. Isaac was too small for the scariest, so I spent much time explaining that he could ride them next summer. This explanation was marginally successful.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Seasonable
I've never liked spring. It always seemed a muddy, windy, chilly mess. But now I realize the problem was my location. Spring can be done well and can be beautiful. Here, the sun comes out, the grass and flowers spring instantly to life, and the air becomes soft and warm. Humidity lurks around the corner like a puma, but elects to hold off. In short, no one does spring like the mid-Atlantic.
This realization made me ponder a great gift that bopping around North America has given me: the enjoyment of each season in the location that does each of them best. Here's my highly individualized and opinionated list:
Spring: Mid-Atlantic, as previously mentioned. I will also note that we had the foresight to embark on our inaugural east coast camping trip a couple of weekends ago, and it was timed perfectly. No wind (first. time. ever.), not too hot during the day, nor too cold at night. Anna had a blast and Isaac complained the whole time, mostly about being bored because no one was playing with him constantly. Despite this, he had fun I think. Mostly fun with the axe and the fire, but that's the way it goes sometimes. He also managed to fall into 6" of water and completely soak himself from hat to shoe. He waited to complete this feat until we were at the furthest point of our hike. As a result, I have this memory of him riding daddy's shoulders, wearing only Anna's graciously donated sweater, with a little bum peeking out from underneath. The point is, spring is a good time for outdoorsy stuff around here, although the ticks and poison ivy continue to terrify me.
Summer: For my (flight) money, it's Alberta every time. Warm without being oppressive, and the evenings cool down down dramatically which is better for sleeping. Gorgeous thunderstorms, but rarely a whole day filled with rain. Sunsets late into the evening (10ish), although I do have a beef with the sunrises (4ish). You can grow giant pumpkins with that much sunshine, and many do. Lakes, rivers, hills, trees, flowers, mountains, and tiny tiny bugs. I love Alberta. Counting the days until our return.
Fall: The Northeast, of course. Brilliant BRILLIANT trees. It looks like someone painted them. Much has been written about the beauty of the trees, so I won't expound on that. What I will say is that autumn also brings with it relief from the oppressive summers, which was a big deal when we didn't have central air. The fruit orchards are also without compare. Apples, peaches, plums, pears.... outstanding.
Winter: This is tricky, and it really depends on what one wants to do during this season. The best vacation I ever had was in early December on our honeymoon in Cancun. Being between the Thanksgiving and Christmas visitors, the resort was uncrowded while the weather was still perfect. But we didn't live there, of course. The best winter living is Colorado. Like snow? It can come down in buckets for all your skiing, snowshoeing, fort building, and snowball throwing needs. Sick of snow? It will be mostly gone in a week or so. Not enough snow? Head for the nearby mountains, where it stays all through the season. The temps rarely get too cold (again, this is an individualized assessment; and I'm from Canada) and there's usually a few spring-like days to beat the January/ February doldrums. Of course it can get really cold, which is a great excuse for snuggling by the fire with hot cocoa.
Of course my Dad, who hates the white stuff, would say that Yuma, AZ is the best place to spend winter. He is entitled to his opinion. Even if it's wrong.
Obviously I am partial to the places that I have lived. But I do think each of them has a shining season, and I'm glad to have experienced them.
This realization made me ponder a great gift that bopping around North America has given me: the enjoyment of each season in the location that does each of them best. Here's my highly individualized and opinionated list:
Spring: Mid-Atlantic, as previously mentioned. I will also note that we had the foresight to embark on our inaugural east coast camping trip a couple of weekends ago, and it was timed perfectly. No wind (first. time. ever.), not too hot during the day, nor too cold at night. Anna had a blast and Isaac complained the whole time, mostly about being bored because no one was playing with him constantly. Despite this, he had fun I think. Mostly fun with the axe and the fire, but that's the way it goes sometimes. He also managed to fall into 6" of water and completely soak himself from hat to shoe. He waited to complete this feat until we were at the furthest point of our hike. As a result, I have this memory of him riding daddy's shoulders, wearing only Anna's graciously donated sweater, with a little bum peeking out from underneath. The point is, spring is a good time for outdoorsy stuff around here, although the ticks and poison ivy continue to terrify me.
Summer: For my (flight) money, it's Alberta every time. Warm without being oppressive, and the evenings cool down down dramatically which is better for sleeping. Gorgeous thunderstorms, but rarely a whole day filled with rain. Sunsets late into the evening (10ish), although I do have a beef with the sunrises (4ish). You can grow giant pumpkins with that much sunshine, and many do. Lakes, rivers, hills, trees, flowers, mountains, and tiny tiny bugs. I love Alberta. Counting the days until our return.
Fall: The Northeast, of course. Brilliant BRILLIANT trees. It looks like someone painted them. Much has been written about the beauty of the trees, so I won't expound on that. What I will say is that autumn also brings with it relief from the oppressive summers, which was a big deal when we didn't have central air. The fruit orchards are also without compare. Apples, peaches, plums, pears.... outstanding.
Winter: This is tricky, and it really depends on what one wants to do during this season. The best vacation I ever had was in early December on our honeymoon in Cancun. Being between the Thanksgiving and Christmas visitors, the resort was uncrowded while the weather was still perfect. But we didn't live there, of course. The best winter living is Colorado. Like snow? It can come down in buckets for all your skiing, snowshoeing, fort building, and snowball throwing needs. Sick of snow? It will be mostly gone in a week or so. Not enough snow? Head for the nearby mountains, where it stays all through the season. The temps rarely get too cold (again, this is an individualized assessment; and I'm from Canada) and there's usually a few spring-like days to beat the January/ February doldrums. Of course it can get really cold, which is a great excuse for snuggling by the fire with hot cocoa.
Of course my Dad, who hates the white stuff, would say that Yuma, AZ is the best place to spend winter. He is entitled to his opinion. Even if it's wrong.
Obviously I am partial to the places that I have lived. But I do think each of them has a shining season, and I'm glad to have experienced them.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Four!
Isaac is now four years old. This has imbued him with a variety of super powers, including (but not limited to):
- He can eat a whole Flinstone's vitamins instead of half a vitamin. What has not changed is that he can only have one vitamin per day. This was sad news.
- He can suddenly reach the mail slot.
- He no longer requires baths? Umm... no. After a long evening spent celebrating his birthday, I stated that since it was his birthday he did not have to take a bath. After a short pause, he looked at me quite hopefully and asked, "Ever?"
- He can count to 50, provided no one interrupts him or notes that he is indeed counting to 50.
- He can write out "Stop." This may be a superpower, or it may be a testament to the effectiveness of the Department of Transportation.
- His dinner time "yummys" and "yuckys" have moved beyond, "My yucky is Daddy gone [to work], and my yummy is Daddy home." Yuckys now include owies, baths (see above), and not receiving dessert after ever meal. Yummys can include playing outside, playing inside, and playing with other children (both inside and outside).
Furthermore, this lucky little man had two whole birthday parties, more or less. As a result of the eyes of pink, Isaac's official birthday party was postponed an entire week. We, purposely kept the original party small (two families), since he gets overwhelmed when many people are about. Also, we are dealing with a relatively small space here. So it was quite unfortunate when one of those families could not make the revised time. Solution: two mini parties.
The first came on Isaac's actual birthday, which morphed from a low key, family only, pizza-ice cream cake-presents affair, to a small scale extravaganza with a little friends from church. The above were included, along with a sphaghetti forest (anna's idea) and the balloon tent. Given the level of energy expended over the 2 hours our friends were here, I found myself grateful that the scale was kept small. The kids all played together very well, and Jon and I had a few moments of adult conversation.
The second party was different than expected. On Friday, we got the decorations up, stuffed the pinata, laid out goody bags, set the table, and baked brownies. Saturday morning at 5:50 a.m., Isaac woke up with pink eye and a bad attitude. So that put the brakes on having friends over.
We made the best of it. I put up streamers for the rain forest vines (goal: find the geckos without touching the vines), Anna made a couple of carnival games (throw the ball into the bag! find the cups! shake the marbles!), and they played in the balloon tent. We also played the garbage man game, which would have been a lot more fun had more kids been here. It's a simple idea: the kids and I stand on opposite ends of the hallway and throw "garbage" at each other for 60 seconds. Whomever has the most garbage on their side loses. Garbage mostly consisted of pieces of cloth, clean balled up paper towels, and empty toilet paper rolls. The pinata will have to wait until a play date. It's an item that really does need a good number of participants. Lots of food, and an impromptu Star Wars viewing completed most of the day.
It's a shame we couldn't have people over. I was looking forward to some more adult conversation. But that's life. Isaac took the down-sized celebration very well, considering how much he had been looking forward to it. Good thing I kept a present on reserve for today - that helped soften the blow. And of course there were brownies.
I must give a shout out to Anna here: she was just as excited that it was Isaac's birthday as he was. No competition, no grabbing for the spotlight, and no jealousy over the presents. She was right in there, making games, getting excited over his presents, and even carrying out the cake for him. She is our encourager and cheerleader, and this was an extension of that. She's a great big sister.
- He can eat a whole Flinstone's vitamins instead of half a vitamin. What has not changed is that he can only have one vitamin per day. This was sad news.
- He can suddenly reach the mail slot.
- He no longer requires baths? Umm... no. After a long evening spent celebrating his birthday, I stated that since it was his birthday he did not have to take a bath. After a short pause, he looked at me quite hopefully and asked, "Ever?"
- He can count to 50, provided no one interrupts him or notes that he is indeed counting to 50.
- He can write out "Stop." This may be a superpower, or it may be a testament to the effectiveness of the Department of Transportation.
- His dinner time "yummys" and "yuckys" have moved beyond, "My yucky is Daddy gone [to work], and my yummy is Daddy home." Yuckys now include owies, baths (see above), and not receiving dessert after ever meal. Yummys can include playing outside, playing inside, and playing with other children (both inside and outside).
Furthermore, this lucky little man had two whole birthday parties, more or less. As a result of the eyes of pink, Isaac's official birthday party was postponed an entire week. We, purposely kept the original party small (two families), since he gets overwhelmed when many people are about. Also, we are dealing with a relatively small space here. So it was quite unfortunate when one of those families could not make the revised time. Solution: two mini parties.
The first came on Isaac's actual birthday, which morphed from a low key, family only, pizza-ice cream cake-presents affair, to a small scale extravaganza with a little friends from church. The above were included, along with a sphaghetti forest (anna's idea) and the balloon tent. Given the level of energy expended over the 2 hours our friends were here, I found myself grateful that the scale was kept small. The kids all played together very well, and Jon and I had a few moments of adult conversation.
The second party was different than expected. On Friday, we got the decorations up, stuffed the pinata, laid out goody bags, set the table, and baked brownies. Saturday morning at 5:50 a.m., Isaac woke up with pink eye and a bad attitude. So that put the brakes on having friends over.
We made the best of it. I put up streamers for the rain forest vines (goal: find the geckos without touching the vines), Anna made a couple of carnival games (throw the ball into the bag! find the cups! shake the marbles!), and they played in the balloon tent. We also played the garbage man game, which would have been a lot more fun had more kids been here. It's a simple idea: the kids and I stand on opposite ends of the hallway and throw "garbage" at each other for 60 seconds. Whomever has the most garbage on their side loses. Garbage mostly consisted of pieces of cloth, clean balled up paper towels, and empty toilet paper rolls. The pinata will have to wait until a play date. It's an item that really does need a good number of participants. Lots of food, and an impromptu Star Wars viewing completed most of the day.
It's a shame we couldn't have people over. I was looking forward to some more adult conversation. But that's life. Isaac took the down-sized celebration very well, considering how much he had been looking forward to it. Good thing I kept a present on reserve for today - that helped soften the blow. And of course there were brownies.
I must give a shout out to Anna here: she was just as excited that it was Isaac's birthday as he was. No competition, no grabbing for the spotlight, and no jealousy over the presents. She was right in there, making games, getting excited over his presents, and even carrying out the cake for him. She is our encourager and cheerleader, and this was an extension of that. She's a great big sister.
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