Fall from grace; late nights; Lenin statue in Hanoi

   In yet another sign that the end game can be rough sport, I fell while coming downstairs from the third floor of our house where I had gone to do a little exercise while my daughter colored animal pictures and my son resisted sleep. It was just a bit past 9 p.m.. Things like this happen quickly when you're older and slower. I wasn't drunk, since I don't drink these days. My left leg either buckled or missed a step, I grabbed the railing and it creaked a little. If I go through it's either death or close enough to death since there's no real barrier from the third to the first floor. That design has been a nightmare with our two children. It's cheaper to build up than out. No horrible damage as I write this the morning-after ... other than a sore right foot, tender left arm, sore neck and tweaked back. My daughter heard the commotion of me rolling down some steps and yelling out, and ran out of her bedroom asking "Are you OK, dad?"  What a sweetheart! Elijah came out smiling -- another reason to stay up late. My wife, who was exhausted from dealing with Elijah, dinner and tons of laundry, which requires multiple trips up and down our vertical living space, saw I was sitting up and seemed relieved. My wife has fallen on these unforgiving faux marble stairs a couple of times, once twisting an ankle. I've had a few crashes. Anyway, I was able to walk Joanna to the pool and swim with her on Friday. The entire trip is more than 2 miles, so that's a good sign.
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I mentioned sleep resistance above because both of my kids don't like to go bed early, meaning before 9 p.m. I'll defend them a bit here. This is the tropics, or torrid zone (my daughter just learned this in her science book). It's either brutally hot or raining in the late morning and afternoon, so the optimal time for our kids to be active is very late afternoon and evening. Elijah takes a decent nap in the day and Joanna just doesn't enjoy sleeping like the rest of us,  although I've noticed she 'll read in bed in the mornings. Anyway, after dinner, which seems to stimulate our children, they're not in the mood for sleep. Joanna likes to draw in her room at night and will stay up way too late. Elijah bounces around a little but he's out like a light when he decides to sleep, usually around 9:15 to 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. when dad falls down the stairs. Our kids' sometimes erratic sleep patterns contribute to my fatigue.
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I was reading about Vietnam's neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict, which makes sense given its past relationship with Russia. What I didn't know was that the friendship was cemented when Russia gave Vietnam a statue of Lenin in 1982, which sits in a Hanoi park. The park is a haven for skateboarders, who probably don't give the statue much thought, but the gift from Russia seems to show a real bond between the countries. I rode past the statue and park on a bus tour of Hanoi with a friend, uh comrade, who visited a few years back.
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The rain has stranded me and my daughter on our walks a few times in the past two weeks. A big storm the other night had us sitting in a milk-tea joint fairly close to our house. We waited through thunder and lightning, and Joanna finally got impatient and was willing to make a dash in the rain. We ran and the rain seemed to a let up a little. Our big adventure ended happily. I've heard thunder a few times while we're at the pool, and we get out of the water. No one else does, and people just swim while it's raining. I haven't actually seen lightning while at the 7th floor, outdoor pool, but hearing the clap and rumble of thunder is enough.
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Spoiler alert: Alexander Hamilton gets killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in the book Hamilton. The West Indies immigrant who was George Washington's confidante and helped create our financial system and wrote much of the Federalist Papers, led a tragic, controversial and remarkable life. This wonderful book has pushed my Kindle reading streak to 887 days in a row. Just finished on Friday and I may let the streak end here. ... I tried to buy a fish tank for my daughter but it never got delivered. Oh well. ... My son Elijah looks up to his big sister so much that's he's started showing off for her at night, bouncing off the bed onto the faux marble floor. Ouch. Easy fella. You can get hurt in this house.