First Grade Holiday Music

There is not much to say here other than Michael had a very cute little music program at school last week. He was not the most enthusiastic performer, but he did his duty. Megan was sweet as pie for the first two thirds of the show, at which point she began to melt down (it was way after bedtime) and started freaking out about how hot she was. She had a hot flash.

Dad Entry #56

My sweet Meg-Pie sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to me three times over the phone this morning. I think it was one of the greatest moments of my life. I heard Sara laugh a little in the background, smiling as big as I was I’m sure at Meggie’s adorable recital. She nailed the melody and only stumbled once or twice on lyrics. She sang it once, then said, “Can I sing it again?” Yes, please! And then, “Again?” Of course! A slice of heaven (when you’re in China for work). It’s pretty rare to see a non-Chinese person in the streets or in the stores. Only in the hotel and a few restaurants. So walking around the city, I see cute little Chinese girls and I miss Megan. I see the curious and active little guys too, and miss Michael, too, of course. (I hear you.) Some kids are with moms and dads, but many are being watched and chased after by grandparents. Extended families are very devoted to each other here – same as everywhere perhaps – but I think it more likely in China that extended family members live very close to each other or in the same home even. Megan and Michael are devoted to their extended families and vice-versa. Sara and I are very grateful for and happy about that.

Michael and I had a terrific phone conversation today. I told him I ate some shark and some scorpions last night. He said, “Why do you eat so many gross things there! I am so grossed out!” I thought he might think it cool that I ate Shark, but no, he was not impressed. At the grocery store, in the meat and fish area, they have several tanks with frogs, turtles, eels, shellfish, jellyfish, and various other types of fish. I was taking a picture of the tanks for Michael when a fish jumped out and splashed all over me. It flopped on the floor at my feet for only an instant before an attendant appeared and scooped it up in a net and tossed it back in the tank. Michael would’ve loved that! I took a picture of an octopus for him too. It was dead and packaged, but it was most definitely an octopus! I bought Michael a Pokemon character cutout book and Megan a Barbie Mariposa sticker book today. They are exactly the same here, of course, except for the Chinese characters. Christmas is pretty big here, to a degree that surprises me. I always thought of Christmas as more of a western thing! Despite its frenzied commercialization, it still has deep religious meaning. But the Chinese do love holidays, and who doesn’t? I see Santa’s picture on many storefronts; there are Christmas trees and Christmas lights in public areas, and decorations for sale and on display inside many stores and restaurants. The kids were relieved to hear that. They would feel very sorry for me indeed, if I was in a place not getting all excited for Christmas!!!

Dad Entry #55

I’m in China. I’m wrapping up my 2nd of 3 weeks here for work. I miss the kids. A lot. But Skype is helping; I have video-called them many times already. Skpe is free and over the internet (VOIP – and video data – to be exact). We’re 14 hours apart, so I typically Skype them at 10:00 PM from China which is only 8:00 AM back in Palatine. Last night I chatted with them while they jammed powdered-sugar donuts into their mouths for breakfast. I blow them kisses, say bye, and go to bed. They go to school. Michael has been great; he’s pretty easy goin’ about the whole thing. He’s bummed it’s taking so long for me to come home again, but we have nice video chats. I show them Chinese money and the Chinese sticker books I got them. I can point the web-camera out my hotel window so they can ‘see China’. They pan their webcam over to the Christmas tree so I can enjoy it for a moment. They tell me about their days at school and their Christmas lists. I tell them all the crazy things that are on the menus here (like scorpions, chicken feet, donkey, shark fin soup, sautéed bull frog, jellyfish, fried pigeon, marinated duck tongue, stingray, turtle soup, flower tea, and much more). I didn’t mention the dog dumplings on the menu last night. Meggie has been great too, she’s talkative and goofy and wonderful to chat with although at least once I caught her having a bad morning; she was very crabby. She’s intrigued by the fact I’m ‘on the other side of the world’. She asks me, “Daddy, why do you have to be on the other side of the world?” I tell her it’s because of work. I called them once via cell phone while they were in the car. When I had to say goodbye, Meggie said, “But Daddy, I wanna talk to you for a long time!” Me too, Sweetheart, I always wanna talk to you for a long time. I can’t wait to get home. Mommy is holding up okay, too, and Grandma and Papa Mike were there to help for a while, but I really can’t wait for next Thursday – my flight home!

My Mom's Water Does the Wierdest Stuff to our Hair

I Confess

I laughed at a fart joke at the dinner table.

Michael:
Newsflash. (pretends to type, rips paper from typewriter and holds it up)
The last time I farted was at school.
Newsflash. (pretends to type, rips paper from typewriter and holds it up)
The last time I farted was at Top Shelf Books.
Newsflash. (pretends to type, rips paper from typewriter and holds it up)
The last time I farted was just a second ago.

A Joke

Michaels joke:
Michael: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
Michael: Norma Lee.
Me: Norma Lee who?
Michael: Normally I don't go around knocking on doors, but would you like to buy an encyclopedia?

Megans version:
Meg: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
Meg: Norma Lee.
Me: Norma Lee who?
Meg: Normally I don't go around buying stores, but would you like to buy a pediacycle?

Oops

Conversation in car:

Me: Green means...

Megan: GO!

Me: And red means...

Megan: STOP! And yellow means GO!

The First Leaf Pile

I am ashamed to say that my kids have never jumped in the leaves. One of the downsides of having someone take care of your lawn...no access. They were...what's the right word....gleeful. It was adorable and hilarious and later extremely difficult to pick out of their hair.

Another Meggie Gem

Terrifying lotion = Calamine lotion

Dad Entry #54

Surely there is nothing cuter on earth than Megan. Her bedroom gets quite cool at night (it hangs over the front door so two walls and part of her floor are outside facing surfaces not insulated by other rooms). Despite the cold, Megan likes to shed her jammies. She enjoys putting them on at bedtime and getting ‘comfy-cozy’ as we call it, but at some point they must get constricting, or bunched up, or – when she’s actually under covers – too warm. So off they come. Tonight I checked on her and she was sprawled on top of all the blankets in nothing but her undies and slipper-boots. Her new, polka-dotted slipper-boots. Yes, she is fond of tossing aside her jams but then putting on her slippers. Especially if they are new slippers I suppose. I covered her up. At least her feet will stay warm when she kicks off her blankets again.

Michael enjoys a good story at bedtime. I try to oblige but it’s tougher than the movies make it appear (when, say, a gravelly-voiced grandpa narrates an amazing yarn, perfectly paced and inflected and vividly detailed, to a pair of mesmerized, wide-eyed little grandchildren sitting comfortably on his lap). Story material is sort of finite, or it seems that way when I’m trying not to use a setting or plot from so many previous nights. I’m thinking, last week we had underwater adventures, a couple nights ago we were in the caves and mountains, I guess it’s back to outer space. We both enjoy thinking of characters (there are several who have made appearances now in multiple stories including Addibooha, Turkhaloo, Anishahbay, Master Oats, Servo and his sidekick bear named Kodiak, Rahkesh, and Brazen). And, naturally, we love to think of enemies. Swarming tarantulas tonight? Or a giant squid lurking in the castle moat? The plot is always the same, though. Good guy characters search for some awesome weapon or relic imbued with magic (like the Ring of Stone, the Mask of Ice, the Bracelets of Power, or the unbearably-bright-when-unsheathed Sun Sword). The good guys encounter the enemies, defeat them, and secure the treasure. Michael participates quite a bit in the storytelling these days, often describing an enemy or battle or encounter. We are not rescuing any ladies yet, though.

Dad Entry #53

On several occasions now I’ve heard Megan say, “I need a fiber bar because my bottom hurts.” My little sweetheart sounds like an old man. She has battled constipation, and is aware that fiber can help. But I think she mostly wants chocolate; the fiber bars have chocolate on them and are really quite tasty.

Megan very often thinks of Michael when, for example, she gets a piece of gum. She’ll ask and take another piece for Michael. How sweet. Michael doesn’t always reciprocate this way. He will, however, stand up for her when things appear more extreme, like when we discipline Megan. If our threats sound too harsh, he will get involved. I might say, “Megan, if you don’t stop playing and get your shoes on NOW, you will NOT be going to Molly's birthday party.” Megan might begin to cry and frantically scurry around (even though she’s ignored the request twice already). It can be a pitiful display. Sara and I are unmoved but sometimes Michael gets genuinely concerned and challenges us on her behalf. He will make a comment like, “You guys are being mean to her.” I actually feel pride when he does this, so I just look at him and say nothing and let it slide, since I told Michael he needs to always stand up for Megan. I tell him standing up for Megan is my job and his job, also. Sara heard me say this recently and added, “And Megan’s job is to look cute and have lots of shoes.” Michael was bummed and said, “For real?”

We go to Dick’s Sporting Goods often just to look around and play. It’s a candy store for me, and the kids mostly agree. We putt golf balls, work the weight machines, test-drive ellipticals, leap frog all the treadmills lined up in a row. We look at bikes, throw the football, dribble the pumpkin, try on baseball gloves. We play soccer in the aisles and check out the taxidermied animals and deer stands by the guns. Sometimes an air hockey or foosball table is set up. But our favorite: playing in the tents. There were four little hunting blind enclosures on display last time and we ‘hid’ in them, sneaking around and ‘spying’ on fellow shoppers, ‘scouting’ their positions, ‘patrolling’ the area. We could zip them up so the inside was totally closed and dark. Looking at fishing tackle is fun too. Megan held up a lure and said, “Look, Dad, a toy for the fish.” She was thrilled they had pink rubber worms, and several with glitter. I told her it works on the fish like it works on her; she was attracted and excited and she grabbed them.

Meg-isms

Two of my most favorite language mistakes Meggie makes:

crispy = frisbee

don't coffee me! = don't copy me!

All Hallow's Eve

Dad Entry #52

On Sunday, Meggie looked out of her car window and said, “Daddy, I wanna touch a cloud up in the sky.” Like Hugh Jackman said about his kids in a magazine article I read, “It’s frightening how much we love them.” Honesty, I was admiring the sky too when Megan made her almost poetic announcement. Of course, Michael corrected her and said, “Well, you can’t really touch them, they are like fog, so maybe you just get your hand wet is all.” Yes, Michael is sometimes quick to burst Megan’s bubble. But I told Meggie I agreed with her, I would love to touch a cloud, and in fact we could fly through them in an airplane, and she probably did when we all flew with Papa Mike to Minneapolis. But Megan is observant; it was a gorgeous sky, a nice mix of blue and the intense white of Megan’s clouds, which were fat and full and lit up by the sun.

“Daddy, does looking at cake make you want cake?” Michael asked me recently. He was looking at a miniature plastic piece of cake that was part of a “Littlest Pet Shop” toy. I think it quite mature of him to sort of step back and observe his own mind. He identified a trigger (the cake) and was curious or intrigued by the fact it caused a physiological response, it caused him to feel hunger (for cake). He observed, and therefore separated himself, from his own thought process. Is he a Yogi? Or the youngest Zen master ever? Probably neither, but I won’t be surprised if he lectures me soon on the mind / body connection, or the psychology of things like stimuli, desire, attention, appetite, advertising, and marketing. I answered, “Yes,” to his question about cake. He said, “Me too, I think that’s the deal with everyone.” Maybe sooner than later Michael and I will discuss how we are not our thoughts. And yet we should take care to control our thoughts; we need to control the focus of our consciousness. This more than anything will determine the quality of our life. But we can also momentarily detach, and observe ourselves and our thoughts - like Michael did with the cake - because we are separate, we are not our thoughts. And in this way we have a tool, a buffer that dampens emotion like anger and fear and sadness. I will tell Michael to try this when times are tough, to be a little calmer and more level-headed to deal with things, pilot his ship, make decisions. Michael will counter and say, "No, we should never detach to ‘observe ourselves’, never, not even for a second. We should always be present and passionate and spontaneous. Because that’s life!" "Sure," I'll say, "But what if the chips are down?" And he'll say, "Then I'll be even more passionate." And I'll say, "Yes, you will be." Then he'll say, “We can withdraw when we die.” To which I’ll say, “I was young once, too.” Perhaps you are rolling your eyes, but here’s the deal… Michael will engage in this crazy conversation with me. And he will only be like nine years old!

Jim, Deb, and Greg were joking over the weekend about how well-spoken and sharp Michael was as a 3 to 4 year old. Specifically, they remember Michael telling them about dinosaurs and whales at a level of clarity and scope rivaling the average narrator on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel. Now that he’s six, they assume he’s a flat-out genius. And honestly, he still talks a good game! Indeed, he’s bright, and he loves to learn (and teach), but maybe Greg is exaggerating when he says things like, “I called Michael last week, I needed to know real quick how much interest I'd pay if I amortized a 25k loan over 48 months at six percent on a quarterly payment schedule with fees at half a percent rolled in” … and so on.

Dad Entry #51

My children are insatiable consumers. And I don’t mean at the dinner table. I mean at the store. Five minutes after a toy is purchased with gift money at Target, we are instantly plotting our next purchase (for which we do NOT have any money left). Can’t we enjoy what we just bought for, say, one day at least?!

Megan is a little bike-rider now. Her bike is small and pink. Very cute. She has a helmet and pads with velcro straps that we put around her elbows or knees. While I was putting them on her knees today, Megan blurted out, “God gave me those to protect my body.” Maybe she sensed I was kind of surprised and touched and amused by her comment because she added, “But God is not in our human body world, you silly, he’s in space.” Of course, kids say these things – interesting, funny, bizarre, cute – all the time, but we don’t jot them down immediately or remember. Although, now I’m thinking, I hope Megan doesn't join some mothership / space / god cult... I think they exist.

Megan is writing her name now. It is so adorable I about burst with admiration for my little Stephen King as I watch her do it. M – E – G – A – N she writes, each one scribbled sort of laboriously at this point, pretty shaky but all clearly distinguishable except maybe the E. It kind of looks like those TV antennas mounted on the roof of every home before cable and satellite and internet video and all the multimedia whiz-bang stuff we have now. How did we survive only 5 channels of network television? (I guess we did other things, like live life.) Now we have 500 channels. In HD. On demand. On 50 inch flat screen LCDs. No one even remembers the pre-MTV / pre-ESPN era of only 3 decades ago. At Michael’s age, I recall watching only one movie on TV; there were no VCR’s yet, no DVD’s. It was the “The Wizard of Oz”. I watched it without blinking.

Although some teams are still playing in the postseason, of course the Cubs are done. For over 60 years other teams have played longer than the Cubs – their last World Series was in 1945 against the Tigers and my Grandpa wrote home from Germany during World War II saying he thought the Cubs would win it. No kidding, I have the letter. Hopeless optimists even then. My Grandpa was a Cards fan when I knew him, perhaps he switched after decades of Cubs futility. Now we have centuries of Cubs futility. Well, maybe I’m bitter, but it doesn’t matter to Mego yet, whenever she sees any sport on TV – baseball, football, you name it – she perks up and says, “Look, Daddy, the Cubs!” Good girl. And I realize now it kind of makes sense; the Cubs kick it around on defense (soccer), and collide and drop it (football), and the other team often hits it a long, long ways into the crowd (golf).

Field Trip

Here is Michael with his future wife Sam and someone almost young enough to fit into the category of possible contender, his teacher. We went with approximately 6,057 kids downtown on the train today. I *might* be exaggerating.

Attack of a Cute Monster!

This is Meg trying her best to be a cover girl.

The Question

What do you want to be for Halloween?

Michael: A Bakugan guy.

Megan: Michael.

Just kidding, although that would have been far more honest. That girl would morph into him if she could. Instead she will have to settle for being a Bakugan guy, too.

Friends Fuh-evah

Meggie and Mia all butterflied out and being cute at the Long Grove Apple Festival.

Dad Entry #50

I missed the kids terribly while I was in Europe. I started thinking about the Moms and Dads in our Armed Forces. God bless ‘em, they leave for much longer than 10 days. And then, well, they’re not exactly on vacation. In Rome I saw Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece called the “Pieta” at St. Peter’s. I had never heard of it before. So I think I will comment on that in my 50th blog entry. Sorry, no funny anecdotes today. The Pieta. To me, it is a remarkable symbol or reflection of the beauty, and also the depth and power and commitment and, for lack of a better word, the price of being the mother – or father! – of another human being. It’s sad, of course, the scene depicted, a mother holding her deceased son. But there are some interesting things going on in the sculpture. First of all, according to experts, Mary is ‘unusually youthful’ and ‘in repose’, which is to say calm or at peace as opposed to sorrowful. We are told these twists are intentional. In addition to the Christian significance, the peaceful Mary, to me, says that regardless of what happens, it is a fathomless and amazing and immeasurably fulfilling gift to be a parent. Parents adore their children, and that is its own reward. The chronologically impossible or historically inaccurate young Mary (she is perhaps too young to be the mother of an early-thirties crucified Jesus) speaks to her perfection – more Christian theological meaning – but to me, it also touches on the reality that parenthood is a lifelong responsibility, or rather, it has lifelong relevance. It is timeless. It is relevant from our first day to our last because even when we are young, and have yet to enter into the various phases of parenthood, we are accumulating experiences that will hugely feed into the role (and its many phases as our own experiences predate some of the same milestones or occurrences in the lives of our children… but not all; undoubtedly we encounter events, challenges, highs, and lows with our kids that are new to everyone involved). And another point about the intentionally sculpted young Mary…… mothers are beautiful. They are beautiful and perfect and very needed in the eyes of their little children (maybe some of that in the eyes of their big adult children, too). Psychologists make careers out of this stuff but I know nothing! Although, I would add that maybe we can sort of replace ‘mothers’ with ‘fathers’ in my statement above about the needs of kids (although, I wouldn’t call fathers ‘beautiful’). And no doubt mothers and fathers have similar and strong – strong to the point of overwhelming at times – feelings about their children.