Rain won't go away, so we improvise to have fun

There are no free outdoor playgrounds near our house in Bien Hoa that I know of, so we have to improvise to provide fun and entertainment for our two young children. My wife is good at this, probably because she grew up in this environment. She supervises our 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son as they play in heavy rain -- and there has been a lot of heavy rain lately; it rains every day, sometimes for stretches of three and four hours.  The kids splash, puddle jump and run back and forth in the flooded streets. They love it. Our kids are unique playing in the rain because most adults here seem to fear the rain and keep their kids and themselves indoors even when it's cloudy. We have taken our kids to a place called tiNiWorld at the mall to play. Obviously, tiNiWorld has lots of options but it can be extremely crowded, which makes it much less enjoyable, and the coughing, sneezing crowds probably make it just as unhealthy as playing in the rain. A nearby coffee shop, Nup, had a slide and swings, but it closed down recently. The fish coffee shop, Kim Koi, has put in a few items for kids -- a small slide and springy toys -- but three kids make it crowded. It's better than nothing, but water for the koi creates a safety hazard in my view. My daughter fell into the water at Gosanke coffee shop, and my son's 3-year-old buddy fell into the water at Kim Koi. With no railing, this kind of stuff happens. Kids play soccer in the streets, but motorbikes and cars don't slow, swerving around the kids and blaring their horns. No matter.  Joanna isn't interested in sports and Elijah is too young. The park we go to has exercise equipment  primarily for adults. So for now, we go on long walks, go to the swimming pool and play in the rain.
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I missed the flower moon this year due to cloudy skies and rain. I did see a nice moon the next night, although it was a day late and sliver short. My cell phone doesn't quite capture the beauty of a nearly full moon in the night sky, so I'll spare you the poor visual. Venus is usually visible in the night sky, but that's about it.
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 The Internet has done wonders for my foot, pained by a tailor's bunion. I wear Softstar shoes around the house, apply ice when necessary and use a toe spacer; the combination has made my daily walks with my daughter enjoyable again, except for the heat and humidity.  I sent a note to Softstar complimenting them on their shoes, and "Elf " Tiffanie responded, thanking me for the note and saying that she was happy to hear about my pain-free walking. I guess the employees are elves -- so cute. My right foot, which was banged up and bruised when I fell down some stairs, improved on its own. I didn't even look online.
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Our son Elijah has become a big fan of CNN. Not sure why. He cries in frustration when BabyTV is on, and relaxes and races to "his spot" on the couch when I change the channel to CNN. Those are the only two channels we watch. I try to be careful with what he sees, switching off if the details are too much on the mass shooting in Buffalo or war in Ukraine. The same goes for Joanna, who will repeat snippets from the news sometimes. But at least Joanna will still watch BabyTV; she enjoys the songs and a couple of the shows. So do I, for that matter. Admittedly, the kids probably watch more TV than they should, but with the rain alternating with 96-degree heat, options can be limited.
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Joanna was drawing near the front door when the girl next door, who's 6 or 7, came up and gave Joanna the middle finger. She did it a second time and my wife saw and the girl ran away. This isn't a huge deal.  A boy down the street did this to Joanna as we took our walk, but the boy came up and stuck his finger in her face. I'll guess both kids probably saw this at school. A few years back a boy about 8 or 9 yelled $%&@ you! at my wife, me and Joanna as we walked up the street, and another young kid spewed about five or six choice words at me when I came home from the market. This stuff used to really honk me off, but these days I roll with it a lot better. If the remarks upset my wife or kids, maybe I'll get riled up, but usually my glaring stare will calm things down.
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After finishing the 818 pages of Hamilton by Ron Chernow I've moved on to Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. So far, lots of facts, almost all very interesting. My Kindle streak continues at 893 days in a row of reading. My kids aren't the only ones with limited recreational opportunities. ... I'll give Joanna a long summer break from formal homeschooling, since she's had enough for the time being. I'll do an evaluation to see where she stands as far as entering first grade goes. I suspect patience and behavior will be more of a challenge for her than the academics. She'll thrive with the right teachers in the right environment. Probably true for all of us.