Memorial Day Parade 2009

This year we did something a little different for the Memorial Day Parade--we walked to the parade site from our home. It was about a mile and a half to get there, and we all survived. Lillian received an invitation from her best friend to view the parade with her and then go to a block party. Lillian was asked to take her bicycle, but it would have been nearly impossible to fit her bicycle and all of the members of our family into the van. I figured that the best thing to do would be to walk. We wouldn't have to worry about finding a parking space or squeezing a bicycle into the van, and we would all get a bit of exercise, including the dog.

Well, I am not sure everyone was on board. Joseph and I were working on cleaning the trap of the downstairs bathroom sink. It was draining slowly due to four years of build-up from soap scum, hair, toothpaste and a couple of band-aid wrappers. It was very disgusting. Rebecca and Lillian went to JoAnn fabrics to take advantage of a few discounts. They got back in time, but Joseph and I were not yet ready to go. It took another 15-minutes to get all of us out the door, and since we had a couple of drop-off times to meet, the front half of our caravan moved much quicker than the back half. Along the way, I traded places with Sam and Emma in pulling the empty wagon, and they rushed ahead to be with their mom and siblings. I pulled the wagon faster but soon got stuck maneuvering around slower moving groups, and then I noticed that the back gate of the wagon had fallen off. I was too far from the vanguard to tell them that I had to backtrack and so I pulled the wagon back about five blocks to find the gate in the middle of the sidewalk and the very point where I began my turn with the wagon.

Jacob marched in the parade with the middle school band. This was another logistical issue I had not fully considered: How will we get Jacob home? Originally, I thought we would just hike as a family the last mile to John Carroll University at the end of the parade route. But then we would get stuck in the massive crowds and festivities there and still have to haul the family back home, which turns out to be uphill from the parade route. If Joseph and I had planned this out, it might have a made a nice 10-mile hike for Hiking merit badge, but I probably would have the one hauling all of the family in the wagon all of the way back. Fortunately, Rebecca came up with a reasonable plan: hike the family home, send Dad in the car later to pick up Jacob. This gave us a shorter route home, and Jacob some time to hang out with his friends.

While at JCU, Jacob was approached by and older woman who said she had played French horn, too. She pointed out that Jacob had a relic instrument--it's a 1920's horn--and asked him if it was for sale. I would have sold it to her for $400.

The parade was fun and epitomized small town America: scout groups, church groups, drill teams, Shriners, the Rocket car, political candidates, historical re-enactors, flags, fire engines and lots of classic and sports cars. Oh, and candy. It will be interesting to see what kinds of parades are done in other countries.

Sex Talk with a Two-Year-Old

About a week ago, Rebecca went shopping at a thrift store with the girls. Her primary purpose was to find straw hats for making bonnets. These bonnets will be used in This is Kirtland play. While there, the girls saw many items that they thought they needed, such as purses, swim suits, pants, shoes, stuffed animals, etc., and they negotiated and pleaded with their mother and managed to convince her to purchase them.

Abby saw a pregnant woman, and then said, "Mommy, I want a baby in my tummy." Rebecca told her that she was too little, and even if Abby could have a baby now, Mommy would not let her get one. Abby then pleaded, "Please, Mommy, please" using the same tone she uses when begging for candy or to sit on the couch and watch a video. Rebecca and Abby continued to negotiate until some other item of interest caught the 2-yr-old's attention.

A couple of days later, Rebecca was with Abby in the bathroom trying to get Abby to use the toilet. Abby said that she wanted to go pee standing up. Between observations of Sam and I using the toilet, she knew that such a thing was possible. Rebecca told her that because Abby did not have a penis, it would be very difficult for her to pee standing up. Abby said, "I want one of those." Rebecca then explained that Abby could not have a penis because she is a girl. Undeterred, Abby insisted that she get one and refused to sit on the toilet and urinate. Rebecca then said, "Instead of a penis, girls have a vagina and uterus so they can have babies." Abby considered this for a moment, said, "OK," and proceeded with her business sitting down.

When Rebecca related these incidents to me, I realized that Abby would be our only child that doesn't automatically get the "where do baby's come from" talk because it is very unlikely that Rebecca will ever be pregnant again. This past May, I have delivered over 25 presentations on this topic and puberty to about 2,000 5th and 6th grade students, but I have yet to do so with my 2-yr-old. I did take the youngest three with me to do parent presentation on what I was going to tell their kids, but Abby slept through most of it. Emma and Sam only talked about the pretzels and playground after sitting through my presentation on puberty.

Jacob in Quebec

Jacob went to Quebec a couple of weeks ago with other French students for the CHUH middle schools. About 31 kids went on the trip. They stayed up there for 5 days, visiting Montreal and Quebec City. This trip gave the kids a chance to practice using their French language skills and be embedded in another culture. I am really glad that Jacob was able to go. He is very interested in international relations and languages.

The trip started with an early morning meeting at the middle school. Jacob and I were the first ones at the school at around 5:45AM. We took Jesse with us. She likes to go in the car to pick Jacob up from track practice. I tried to get a picture of Jacob, but he kept closing his eyes with the flash. Also, several of the photos came out blurry. It turns out that the camera was set for close-up shots. Jacob met his roomates, a couple of boys from one of the other middle schools, then they got on the bus and left. We didn't hear from them again until they returned. Well, Joseph heard from Jacob. On the return trip, one the chaperones (Joseph's social studies teacher) used her cell phone to call Joseph at school and had Jacob speak to him at school.

I missed the full report because I had to work the evening Rebecca talked Jacob into telling the family of his adventures. Rebecca says that the kids listened to Jacob for over hour tell his stories. I'm sorry I missed it. Jacob reported that the host family he stayed with was really cool, and he enjoyed playing with the little siblings in that family. Considering the sibling conflicts we have at home, it's nice to know that Jacob is pleasant when with others. Sometimes I think we are less "good" at home just to relieve the stress of being more "good" at work, school, church and other public places.

Jacob also says that he was an influence on his peers, setting such trends as purchasing hats for souvenirs (Jacob brought home a camoflauge fedora and a coonskin hat) and trying new foods, such as a fried potato and gravy dish that sounded a lot like chili cheese fries. He also had a traditional Canadien breakfast of lard and meat and real maple syrup. Mmmmm.

I am not exactly sure of all the places Jacob visited, but his pictures are of monster trucks (set up at a rest stop), unusual signs (hare crossing), cathedrals and icons (monkey paintings?), armour (swords, helmets, cool stuff), roller coasters, sculptures, and no people. Despite spending a day in a French school, hanging out with friends for a week, going to a circus training site, and riding on a bus for many, many hours, it seems that no one actually lives in Quebec. They're just like the photos I took at his age on my school trips.

Spring Orchestra Concert

Lillian played flute with the Canterbury orchestra last week. She was also one of the announcers. We had a rough start with her flute this year. I purchased a used Armstrong flute, and it seemed fine to me, but it had some alignment issues. At one point in February, Lillian's teacher threatened to remove her from the orchestra if we didn't get her flute fixed. I took it in to the shop, and they quickly repaired it. Within a week, one of the springs started to slip once again rendering the flute unplayable. Fortunately, the repair man was able to easily bend the spring back into position and it has worked well enough.

I have been surprised at how quickly Lillian has learned the flute. I can barely make the thing wimper, and using ten fingers over multiple keys makes my mind swirl. Her orchestra sounded better than Jacob's middle school orchestra. The Canterbury kids played easier music, but it actually sounded like music when they played. And they were mostly together. The concert also included several solos, duets and other small ensemble performances. These kids did a really nice job.

Lillian's best friend, Emme, is moving this summer. There are actually quite a few families moving this year. Most of them are finished with schooling or residencies and are moving on to more permanent positions. A couple families have actually lost their jobs and are relocating to take on new jobs. We'll miss them.