I was fortunate enough last week to be lying next to my son Elijah when he rolled from his back to his belly for the first time. He was 3 and a half months old. He elevated his left arm and twisted his hips simultaneously to make the maneuver happen. He rolled from his belly to back a while ago after I placed him on his belly, but maybe that was just luck. He's only done it a few times since. Maybe he doesn't need to -- he prefers being on his stomach and would sleep that way if we let him. We don't. My wife took him to a baby spa this week, and he spent time in a jacuzzi, was stretched, and got an oil rubdown from a young staffer. Our neighbor jokingly tried to persuade me to get the same treatment, but I correctly pointed out that my weight was too much for the massage table.
• • •
With coronavirus, stifling heat and monsoon season strongly influencing our lives here, watching U.S. politics and news on TV has become our No. 1 prime-time and morning activity. I'm a lifelong Democrat born into a family of Democrats in Wilmington, Delaware. It so happens that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is a Delaware guy. In fact, he was my cousin's teammate on Archmere Academy's undefeated high school football team. Archmere is in Claymont, Delaware. My cousin was quite a player. Anyway, what's happening in the U.S. is upsetting me and my wife as we consider moving to Yellow Springs, Ohio, next year with two young children. Coronavirus and racial injustice shake our confidence. So does the current leadership. I will get my ballot for the November election around Sept. 18, and I'll Fed-ex my vote the next day. My daughter Joanna wants to go to Yellow Springs -- she's heard me talk about it and knows I have a house there. Phuong has taken many virtual walks around town using Google maps and giggles at my tiny house. Joanna also mentions going to Africa since we watch a lot of nature shows on TV and video. That could happen if the election goes the wrong way for me.
• • •
Despite language issues, teachers remain patient and committed to making Joanna's school experience positive and enjoyable. I know Joanna can be supremely stubborn, she'll test the limits every chance she gets, and following direction isn't her strong suit. (These are just some of the reasons I love her so much.) But teachers have adapted somewhat to her style and the results are very noticeable, especially at home. Her interactions are more sophisticated, her wit is sharper, and she's more responsive to my requests. She loves dancing, and that's being encouraged at school -- clap clap ... cha cha cha ... shake your booty. She'll dance to YouTube alphabet videos and the ubiquitous Baby Shark videos. And it's not just silly jumping around. This girl takes her dancing seriously. Most important, she's a wonderful and respectful big sister to Elijah.
• • •
One of the inconveniences of aging is the amount of time spent on body maintenance and repair work just to live at a reasonable level. Back stretching is needed to cope with sciatica; constant cleaning is necessary so keys and wallet aren't misplaced; lots of short walks enable arthritic ankles and a balky left knee to function at a ... well ... functional level. There's also nightly eye drops to stave off glaucoma and a conservative diet and no booze to help deal with no gall bladder (and other issues). As my aunt who lived to be 96 once said, constantly seeing a doctor and taking medicine isn't great, but it beats the alternative. Regardless of health issues, two small children leave little time to whine except in a blog.
• • •
Good streaks: I have read (almost exclusively Jack Vance books) the past 266 days in a row; I haven't had a drink of alcohol for 9 months; and I haven't had a cigarette for a little more than four-and-a-half years.
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Coronavirus comeback; laid back; voting for hope, change
We're dealing with a coronavirus resurgence in Vietnam that has put us back on limited lockdown with masks required. There are also limits on the number of customers in the few coffee shops that are open. Many "nonessential" businesses, such as nail salons and barber shops, have been re-shuttered. Some folks work around the restrictions because they need money for groceries.
We have a couple of active cases in Bien Hoa -- a doctor and his wife who went to Da Nang. Road blocks are set up to detour traffic around their neighborhood, which happens to be across the street from the supermarket where I shop. The detour added to my taxi fare on Saturday, but no big deal. Safety first.
Joanna's school closed last week for two days -- Monday and Tuesday -- and we kept her out the rest of the week. She returned to school this week, but I limited her to half-days. Nine and a half hours a day for a 4-year-old seems a little extreme to me. During time away from school, I work with Joanna on bike riding (with training wheels), and provide academic instruction in the afternoons -- I continue to read to her and I have her write letters and words using dot to dot. We draw cartoons on our whiteboard that are based on the animated BabyTV show "Beep Beep," which is about the misadventures of two trucks and a "road," who are friends. Joanna loves the "Beep Beep" work, but she won't do something unless she is comfortable and confident in what she's doing. She slyly watches and listens. She's more capable than she lets on, and sometimes thinks it's funny to goof up, especially on the bike. With the language barrier at school, even though it's "bilingual," English-speaking Joanna can run into difficulties. She seems very bright to me, but she doesn't like taking any orders from anybody, and a language issue only adds to her frustration. Anyway, not all of the students have returned to class yet, so things are low-keyed. And that seems better suited for Joanna. Her clever sense of humor remains intact throughout all this; she recites the planets quite often and always points to my stomach and laughs when she says "Jupiter."
* * *
Low-keyed is perhaps the best way to describe our son Elijah. He's a little older than 3 months and doesn't complain about much of anything except when mom's milk isn't at the ready. He loves company, and when's he's whining ever so slightly he'll stop whining instantly when I lay down next to him and baby babble. I read that if you copy the sounds a baby makes, the baby will make more sounds. This technique has worked like a charm for Elijah. He constantly baby babbles whenever he sees dad, which is all the time. We have funny little conversations about who knows what, but we both enjoy it. He'll roll from stomach to back -- but not vice versa -- especially when he's angry. Otherwise, this laid-back boy will chill on his back or stomach, examining his right fist. My wife Phuong is mostly recovered from the effects of giving birth, but she battles fatigue a little. So do I, but no doubt age, lack of exercise, and helping my wife deal with two very young children are big factors. I can't really exercise because of back issues. I know I'm old because I count my 7-minute walk to school with Joanna as a "workout." Sometimes that walk will take 20 minutes -- I'm not sure Joanna is 100 percent committed to school, and she loves spotting birds, butterflies, bees and snails on the way to school. She's got a decent eye and showed me the butterfly and snail pictured on the right.
* * *
We're working toward getting our son a passport, which would put us closer to coming to the U.S. Coronavirus has added hurdles to our immigration efforts, but no worries. no hurries. Still, we'd like to see changes in our country that would make the situation safer for my children and more welcoming for my Vietnamese wife. I like Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's VP pick. She's well-spoken and tells it like it is. Honesty and a straightforward approach to governing are necessary steps toward making America respected for its leadership and righteousness -- again. With so many negatives facing the U.S. -- the lack of any decisive action during the pandemic; racism; birther BS; lack of concern about climate change; mail-in voting misinformation -- voting this November is a must, not an option. I'll mail-in my vote from Bien Hoa. That's my right.
We have a couple of active cases in Bien Hoa -- a doctor and his wife who went to Da Nang. Road blocks are set up to detour traffic around their neighborhood, which happens to be across the street from the supermarket where I shop. The detour added to my taxi fare on Saturday, but no big deal. Safety first.
Joanna's school closed last week for two days -- Monday and Tuesday -- and we kept her out the rest of the week. She returned to school this week, but I limited her to half-days. Nine and a half hours a day for a 4-year-old seems a little extreme to me. During time away from school, I work with Joanna on bike riding (with training wheels), and provide academic instruction in the afternoons -- I continue to read to her and I have her write letters and words using dot to dot. We draw cartoons on our whiteboard that are based on the animated BabyTV show "Beep Beep," which is about the misadventures of two trucks and a "road," who are friends. Joanna loves the "Beep Beep" work, but she won't do something unless she is comfortable and confident in what she's doing. She slyly watches and listens. She's more capable than she lets on, and sometimes thinks it's funny to goof up, especially on the bike. With the language barrier at school, even though it's "bilingual," English-speaking Joanna can run into difficulties. She seems very bright to me, but she doesn't like taking any orders from anybody, and a language issue only adds to her frustration. Anyway, not all of the students have returned to class yet, so things are low-keyed. And that seems better suited for Joanna. Her clever sense of humor remains intact throughout all this; she recites the planets quite often and always points to my stomach and laughs when she says "Jupiter."
* * *
Low-keyed is perhaps the best way to describe our son Elijah. He's a little older than 3 months and doesn't complain about much of anything except when mom's milk isn't at the ready. He loves company, and when's he's whining ever so slightly he'll stop whining instantly when I lay down next to him and baby babble. I read that if you copy the sounds a baby makes, the baby will make more sounds. This technique has worked like a charm for Elijah. He constantly baby babbles whenever he sees dad, which is all the time. We have funny little conversations about who knows what, but we both enjoy it. He'll roll from stomach to back -- but not vice versa -- especially when he's angry. Otherwise, this laid-back boy will chill on his back or stomach, examining his right fist. My wife Phuong is mostly recovered from the effects of giving birth, but she battles fatigue a little. So do I, but no doubt age, lack of exercise, and helping my wife deal with two very young children are big factors. I can't really exercise because of back issues. I know I'm old because I count my 7-minute walk to school with Joanna as a "workout." Sometimes that walk will take 20 minutes -- I'm not sure Joanna is 100 percent committed to school, and she loves spotting birds, butterflies, bees and snails on the way to school. She's got a decent eye and showed me the butterfly and snail pictured on the right.
* * *
We're working toward getting our son a passport, which would put us closer to coming to the U.S. Coronavirus has added hurdles to our immigration efforts, but no worries. no hurries. Still, we'd like to see changes in our country that would make the situation safer for my children and more welcoming for my Vietnamese wife. I like Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's VP pick. She's well-spoken and tells it like it is. Honesty and a straightforward approach to governing are necessary steps toward making America respected for its leadership and righteousness -- again. With so many negatives facing the U.S. -- the lack of any decisive action during the pandemic; racism; birther BS; lack of concern about climate change; mail-in voting misinformation -- voting this November is a must, not an option. I'll mail-in my vote from Bien Hoa. That's my right.
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