Crawl space; eye issues; sidewalk bump

Hours after my last post about my son's unique backwards crawling style, Elijah broke into a standard forward crawl ... and has been doing so ever since. Like his sister -- and all kids -- he crawls past his toys and goes straight for the computer wires, electrical outlets, cell phones on the couch and whatever else that is dangerous and supposedly off-limits. He's on his second go-around with teething; he's about to add two more bottom teeth. He's handling this discomfort very well, perhaps because he's been down this path before. He's a good, strong boy, but he objected to his vaccination shots. Joanna had to have two shots also and did very well. She sat on my lap and I told her to close her eyes and count to 10. The shots came at "3" and "6" and she didn't cry, but asked me to "kiss it better."  She continues to thrive since she left school here and paid me the ultimate compliment, saying "daddy's school is cool." I hope "cool" isn't kid talk for something other than what I think it is. We still have a few differences of opinion, but I pretty much give her free rein with any school stuff, meaning she reads and writes when she feels like it. She's doing well.
• • •
I had some uncomfortable aching in both eyes after a doctor at the local hospital changed my eye drops for glaucoma. My pressure dropped so low from the new drops that he took me off all drops. At least that's what I was told. To make a long and boring story short (and also boring), I went to the American Eye Center in Ho Chi Minh City. My doctor was Scottish and pointed to a wee bit of difficulty in regard to getting my old medicine in Vietnam. I went back to drops that I was on about 10 years ago in the U.S. They stopped being effective because I built up an immunity to them, according to my doctor in Ohio. Anyway, the old drops seem to be OK for now and the aching has subsided due to medicine prescribed by the new doctor. I'm getting new glasses there as well since my kids and I have scratched the daylights out of the three pairs I have now. By the way, the American Eye Center charges American prices, but I'll pay whatever for eyesight. The center is located in District 7, which is a very nice district in Ho Chi Minh City. You can smell the money and it has a nice aroma. On the way home in my taxi I saw a woman laid out on the highway from an accident. Her motorbike was obliterated; there were lots and lots of pieces of it all over the road. I went a long time without seeing any accidents, but I've seen three in the past month or so, two of them pretty serious.
• • •
A girl riding her motorbike on the sidewalk hit Joanna while while we were walking.  But the impact was light because the girl wasn't going very fast. Joanna was shocked more than anything else. I saw Joanna was fine, so I regained my composure right away and asked the girl why she was riding her bike on the sidewalk when the street is right next door. The girl launched into a barrage of "sorry's" and that was the end of it. The motorbikes and cars with their total disregard for pedestrians no matter where they are remain the biggest downer of living here. More and better shops and restaurants are opening, so the quality of life is slowly improving. If it weren't for some of the  damn drivers who think they can go anywhere at any rate of speed ....
• • •
Face masks are more in vogue here, which is kind of nice. I forget mine more than I should because instances and reports of Covid-19 are so minimal. I put up a hook on the door to hang my face mask. I still forget.  I'm writing this to help me remember to wear the mask. Hope it works. The mask also helps my skin handle the heat and dirty air better even if my scratched and battered glasses fog up.  I see what's happening in the U.S. with Covid and of course it's upsetting and disturbing, especially since we're making tentative plans to go to the U.S. for Joanna's schooling. Joanna really wants to go to Yellow Springs and attend school there. Elijah is happy no matter where he is, as long as he gets access to computer wires, electrical outlets, cell phones on the couch and whatever else that is dangerous and supposedly off-limits.
• • •
I've gone a year now without a drop of alcohol, except perhaps in some cough medicine that I'm not aware of. My mouthwash has a little alcohol in it but I don't drink it. I've read 359 days in a row, according to my Kindle. I haven't had a cigarette in more than 4 years and 8 months, according to my lungs. Yep, I'm a real live wire these days.