We start playgroup for Joanna; rehabilitation is rough

I really wanted my 31-month-old daughter to get some social contact with other kids her age. It's not easy here, especially since Joanna has a White Monkey dad and Vietnamese mom.  Our daughter sometimes seems more like a curiosity than a child to other kids and parents in Vietnam, especially on our street, because she looks more American than Vietnamese. So my incredible wife Phuong took matters into her own hands and has started a mini-playgroup with a mom named Nghi, who has a daughter nicknamed Baby Chip in the group. Nghi was a teacher and knows her way around kids. And she can draw OK as well. Another mom, Luong, and her son. Shin, joined the group to complete our initial trio. We've set up an area downstairs with lots of toys, LEGO sets, and our fish tank.  Snacks and lunch for the children are delivered in the kitchen, of course, and upstairs my classroom is used for drawing and coloring. Also, the third-floor balcony now has a small swimming pool, which the kids love.  The three kids play together -- actually, they play near each other -- for about four hours a day. It's noisy and a little hectic, especially when I teach my private student, but the children seem to be enjoying themselves, and my private student seems ready to move on after she takes her IELTS test next month. Joanna looks forward to the arrival of the other children, although she can be a little moody and rough when she goes to bed late or doesn't sleep well the night before. Tired and cranky happens to the best of us. The other moms are great and the kids are sweet. I'm very pleased with the setup and I want to thank my wife for doing everything in her power to better Joanna's life. Another child, a boy about Joanna's age, is expected to join our group tomorrow. I suggested that we max out at five kids (including Joanna) so we don't burn out and end up hating children. One more child plans to join us next week.

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The thing I've never liked about pain is that it hurts. This evil cause and effect is making my rehabilitation of a torn plantar fascia ligament in my left foot extremely tedious and unpleasant. Progress and recovery have been understandably slow. I've been following Dr. Internet's wise counsel for treatment: I continue to soak the foot in ice for 20 minutes at a time, three times a day, and I do exercises three times a day -- after each ice treatment -- to strengthen and stretch the plantar fascia. The pain has subsided somewhat since I first injured the foot 11 days ago, and the ice treatment isn't nearly as bad as it was when I first started. Now, I read Jack Vance while on ice and the time flies. The foot actually feels better after stretching, but walking remains painful and running is out of the question. Most sites on the Internet say recovery time is a minimum of 3 months. Of course, I'm in it for the long haul with ice and stretching because I'd really like to play tennis again and do tai chi at a higher level than I'm performing now -- with one good leg. Plus, I don't have any choice; I have little girl and I must be mobile when I help my wife with our daughter and other kids in our fledgling playgroup. My advice to anyone worried about suffering an injury of any kind during tennis: Don't let your wife control the tempo of long rallies or she'll run you ragged and break you down. That's what happened to me, plus I hate losing so I compete like a young man ... unfortunately my competitive spirit is housed in an old man's body. I joke with Phuong that the WTA is reviewing our situation and may strip me of my No. 1 ranking because of inactivity. My wife has been classy and gracious the entire time, saying something to the effect that she wants to become No. 1 (in our family) on the court, not in the courtroom. Clearly, the foot is improving despite the lingering but tolerable pain, but a tennis match seems a long way off -- probably three months. Unlikely I'll be No. 1 then.

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There was a "supermoon" that was quite visible here last week, and Joanna was enamored with it. She enjoys the night sky and spots stars/planets, airplanes and the moon. I took a phone photo of the supermoon and Phuong made some prints, and even framed one photo. Joanna insists on calling it a crescent moon even though she knows better. Stubborn kid. I'm back to restricting video time for her because videos do nothing for her behavior and social interaction. Even though the videos are educational, she's a little obsessive like her mom and dad, and gets too wrapped up in the screen. So I'm trying to channel her obsession into books, drawing -- which she loves -- and the night sky.