Hi Princess,
When I was living in the Dominican Republic, I taught with a British science teacher who asked me, “How were your hols?” after we returned from break. I remember looking at her strangely because I had no idea what she meant. She was nice enough to let me know she was asking how my HOL-idays were, that was it. Now that I’m re-reading Harry Potter, they talk about their Hols also, and I’m on it. This is the post-hols post.
The latest 1 Second Everyday Video:
Here is the entire year 2017 in 1 second videos:
What you’re doing these days:
You are slowly working through eating your Halloween candy, 1 piece a day after dinner, when you think about them.
Since the Indiana cousins didn’t have a break that coincided with ours this year, we decided to go to Hawaii for Christmas this year. While we explored Maui, you had us tell you stories about Santa and Rudolph. In accordance with our vacation protocol, you got strep throat during our trip, so we spent time in a Hawaiian urgent care place in Kahului. This meant you had to choke down medicine twice a day, which was difficult for you to do. To make it tolerable, Mommy sang “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” while you sipped your red medicine.
We spent time sampling sandy beaches on the island, and you had your first shave ice and malt on a french fry. On Sugar Beach, a kid pulled two (dead) sharks out of the water. They seemed to have been baited by fishermen but left to die on the line. Their skin was thick and leathery and their eyes dark and eery.
You took six weeks of ski lessons at Stevens Pass this year and loved each session. Even without the motivation of having hot chocolate after a Saturday session, you became very comfortable on you cute short skis and, by the final lesson, went up the Daisy chair lift twice, skiing and turning all the way down. You got a lot of ski time in this year, to Mommy’s delight, both nordic and downhill. Kim, your instructor, helped you become a confident downhill kid and presented you with a medal on the last day.
You can buckle your own car seat now with minimal frustration, though Mommy and I mostly do it for you when we ride. You’ve also got a good rhythm going with swimming lessons every Tuesday. In the last set, you were moved up to the 5-6 year old group because of your skills. Last Tuesday, you practiced “chicken, airplane, soldier” arm movements to prep for the backstroke.
You like to joke around, tickle me, and teach us lessons. Lately you’ve been saying, “What goes around comes around, Daddy,” and “I’m four and a half, that’s how I roll.”
You and I finally watched Star Wars. I’ve been telling you the stories for almost a year now, so we viewed the G-rated original New Hope. You wanted me to forward through the Darth Vader parts, especially the light saber duel between Darth and Ben. In the stories you have me tell, you make sure to have me tell stories where the “Stormtroopers and Darth Vader are nice.” The last one was about the Rebellion and Empire camping in Lake Wenatchee. There was an earthquake, but everyone got into a boat, went out into the lake, and escaped the falling rocks. When Princess Leia decided that it was safe to return to shore, everybody went back and made smores around the campfire.
Here is a clip of us watching Star Wars for the first time. You had a LOT of questions.
A couple of days after watching The Empire Strikes Back, you asked Mommy where Yoda goes pee and poop. We explained to you that you rarely see people go pee and poop in the movies because it is a private event. Peeing and pooping is on your mind because for many months you’ve held your pee in and not gone when we ask you to, often creating pain in your vagina.
Here is an interaction between you and Mommy. You are playing with your new birthday spaceship from Lakeside toys.
In my life these days:
The first Saturday in February was the Washington State Ethics Bowl Competition. My school put together a team for the first time and we won two out of three matches. For the months prior to the competition, we studied ethical cases, formulating the central ethical dilemma in each, and developing explanations of what should be done to resolve the cases. In a match, Team A has six minutes to talk about a case, Team B three minutes to respond to Team A’s part, then the judges ask Team A questions. Then the roles are switched for the teams and they handle a different case, the winner being the team who has the most judge-awarded points at the end. I was proud of the five girls who participated; we’re already working on next year.
The new Peabody Planner is covered and working like the previous twenty-six. This year’s cover has one of your very first recognizable drawings, “The Dog.” It also features an antique vellum parchment cover that the librarian at school gifted to me and helped me bind.
In the news:
Doug Jones won the senate seat in Alabama over incumbent Roy Moore. This was a miraculous win for Democrats in a state that hadn’t seen one in the Senate for decades.
Pope Francis suggested people give up plastic products for Lent this year.
South Korea is hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang. We’ve been watching nearly every night.
More sexual harrassment allegations, firings and resignations are taking place. Larry Nasser, the long-time trainer for USA Gymnastics, was convicted of sexual molestation of 140 girls and sentenced to life in prison.
The Seahawks season did not end in a playoff berth this year. There was a fun Super Bowl, however, with the Philadelphia Eagles edging out the Patriots for the Lombardi Trophy. The Eagles’ QB, Nick Foles, was a back up for the team until their primary QB was injured right before playoffs.
A summary of a book or podcast I liked:
I was inspired by this TED talk by Verna Myers about leaning in to your bias.
I recognize that I have a bias toward whiteness and away from blackness…..it is what it is. I didn’t grow up around black people and I’ve been brainwashed by the white-dominated media to believe African-Americans are more different than whites than they really are. I also have a lot of white guilt that has accumulated from reading about slavery, Jim Crow Laws, redlining, and the mass incarceration of black males for crimes that are disproportionate to their white counterparts. The April 2018 issue of National Geographic was a special issue on race…I’ll speak more about it in the next post.
I’ve started listening to two podcasts
Radio Ambulante , my new way to keep learning Spanish. The latest episode I heard was about a village in the Andes where a disproportionate number of men became blind at a young age.
Off Book is my candy, an improvisational musical podcast….all made up on the spot. You get a crazy musical every week. Listen to Murder on the Picturesque Express but not until you’re 18 🙂
Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People. Quick….imagine in your mind’s eye a black, Muslim, sixtyish, French lesbian professor…….hard to do, isn’t it? How about a construction worker with their hard hat on……breastfeeding her baby? Whether we like it or not, there are errors in how we perceive, remember, reason, and make decisions and your brain has stored experiences that you cannot set aside. Because of these experiences, we prefer certain things over others and create labels in our mind to classify, categorize, and evaluate things….and people. These “mindbugs,” imagined habits of thought, are what lead to the errors in our perception and contributes to our bias. Blind Spot exposes these stereotypes in us and others and shares how to unravel the bugs.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: A depressing tale of a Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkis, who wants nothing but the realization of the American Dream for him and his family. Rather, Rudkis finds lethal work in Chicago’s meatpacking industry, where he discovers that life in Packingtown is anything but a dream, slowly eroding any hope Jurgis has to make a living or provide for his family.
I also completed what was going to be a summer goal – compiling the entire 1 second chronicle! This one is 29 minutes long and includes clips from before you were even born!
I feel lucky every day, little one, to be your Dad. Growing up with you has been such a treasure, and I am grateful for our family. I feel for those who don’t have means to register for swimming lessons, buy new toys, or feel safe in their school or community, and hope that your generation can find a way for all kids to access the things we can give you now.
Love, Daddy