Stuffed animals take unexpected swim in canal

Two small children -- a chubby boy and chubby girl who are apparently under the care of two older folks -- follow me and Joanna around the park when we're fishing. Joanna almost always carries a stuffed animal with her when we go out every afternoon. So this past week I'm fishing and Joanna is hanging nearby scouting for fish in the water and playing. The two kids usually try to take whatever animal Joanna has and then they'll run away. This day, Joanna put her stuffed animal on the ground next to me to get some bait, and as quick as a jackrabbit the chubby boy picked up Joanna's red cow and tossed it into the mucky canal.  The two older folks in charge of the kids laughed, which can be something of a standard reaction to anything here. Joanna shrugged it off, saying "he just threw the cow in the river. Sorry, cow." The animal  was a freebie with yogurt that I bought. I guess the worst part of this is that it's the second time these 2-year-olds have done something like this. A week before, the girl threw our bait in the water (some crickets and worms) and the boy tried to push our fishing pole in the water. He almost succeeded and Phuong had to climb the little concrete wall to retrieve the pole; it was a dangerous maneuver I wouldn't try, but I'm an old man. Joanna and Elijah were fascinated by the whole process, from the kids tossing our stuff to Phuong's crazy acrobatics to salvage the gear. We saw the same clan a few days later when I was fishing with Joanna. The whole group -- adults and kids -- were so loud and disruptive screaming about the worms we had for bait that Joanna went and played elsewhere and I stopped fishing. My wife came and told them to back off and they just laughed. They said something about the kids just having fun (throwing our crap in the yucky water) and that the kids were too fast for them to handle. The kids are two years old and both quite chubby for children.  Sadly, we just don't fish if we see them there. I don't want to create a real confrontation by yelling at them to get the hell away from me and my daughter. Besides, they would just laugh anyway.
• • •
Lightning struck us twice this week at the park when a 3-year-old boy took Joanna's little stuffed shark out her hands and threw it in the canal. We were passing through the park on our way to Kim Koi 2 when the boy came up to Joanna and acted like he wanted to play. The boy was pretty aggressive and seemed to have some issues and the man with him -- most likely his grandfather -- did the expected when the shark went into the water. He laughed. Joanna said something to the effect of "we'll get a new shark," not quite understanding that it had some sentimental value since it was a gift from her cousin.  So let's get this on the record: In the past few weeks Joanna has had a 6-year-old boy come up and put his middle finger in her face; a chubby boy threw her stuffed cow into the canal and the chubby boy and his chubby sister tossed bait into the canal and nearly got our fishing pole into the canal as well; a boy tossed her shark into the water; earlier in the month, two men grabbed her arms when she didn't respond to their nonsensical drivel in a fashion that suited them -- I hip-checked one idiot and poke-checked the other with my walking stick. My stick is often targeted by kids if I put it down at the park when fishing. I'd hate to see it lost in the canal or broken since my brother gave it to me before he died. For me, it's no laughing matter.
• • •
I haven't had cigarettes  (nearly five years) or alcohol (14 months), but I drink two or three cups of coffee a day, which is probably counterproductive for my sweat glands in the 93-degree heat ... My reading streak continues. It's at 61 weeks and 419 days in a row, thanks in part to Dune and Dune Messiah. I liked Dune but found it a little cumbersome. I really like the sequel, probably because I know the characters (by reading Dune) and the plot is easier to digest. ... This is my 300th blog post, and the blog has 71,600 hits overall ... We've made no hard and fast decision on coming to the U.S. as we monitor Covid and the new strains, and keep an eye on political tensions in the U.S. No doubt we'll get there soon enough for the sake of our two children ... and their stuffed animals.

Fish tale/tail has a happy ending; waiting again on visa

It's a water most foul that must carry the garbage discarded by a city under construction. Its flow is sluggish. That there's life under this wicked, often black waterway is a testament to the resilience of nature. It's amazing.

OK, I'm certainly not Melville or Hemingway, but I caught my first fish in the canal that runs through the park near our house. The best thing about the fish I pulled out of the canal last week was the reaction it produced in my daughter Joanna. She jumped for joy and ran up to see the little catfish. The smile on her face brought me so much joy. She loves all things fish and my catch after seven trips to the canal made both our days. A change of bait -- blood worms instead of meal worms and crickets -- resulted in a couple of strikes. My gear consists of pole, line and float. It has no reel, which added to the challenge. I don't even know how to keep the line tight. Maybe I don't need to since I caught the fish regardless of equipment. The second best thing about the catch was that there were quite a few people in the park at the time, and I even got congratulated.  My wife got pictures of the catch, and she also got a video. I have them on my phone so when I start getting advice while fishing, I'll flash the photos to quiet my many detractors. Ha ha. I may have lost Moby Dick off my hook the day before, but that didn't matter to Joanna on Thursday, and that's what mattered to me. And, by the way, catfish must be able to survive in pretty much any kind of water. That's why some species are prehistoric, I guess.
• • •
Across the street from the park, a huge coffee shop opened with little waterways containing lots of koi. The idea is to attract families and kids, who can buy little containers of food for the fish. The problem I've noticed is that kids don't want to leave, and departure includes crying and complaining. The walkways are somewhat narrow, which means there are percentage points for some kids falling into the water. Joanna acts terrified around heights sometimes, but she's fearless as she runs and jumps along the waterways. The water isn't deep, but the hassle would be deep if she fell in. The coffee shop is very close to our house. but we have to walk down a narrow walkway between the houses. The problem is motorbikes have started using this walkway more frequently as a shortcut, creating a danger for Joanna and possible confrontation with pedestrians like me who don't like aggressive and belligerent motorcyclists honking their horns for Joanna and I to put our backs to the wall so they can race by. Joanna is really good at tuning out nonsense like this, but I get upset when my daughter is threatened. I don't want to get upset, so I want my wife to find out if it's OK for bikes to use the narrow walkway as a cut-through. If it's OK, we'll take the long way around on the sidewalk to the park or coffee shop or wherever. But that provides no guarantee you won't be confronted on the sidewalk by a cyclist or even a car. As noted, I've been hit a few times by bikes while walking on the sidewalk or walking across the street in the supposedly safe "zebra." A friend here told me the situation is much worse in India; he said it feels like the motorists want to hit pedestrians. Another friend mentioned the perils of city traffic in Sri Lanka. As if Covid and a possible uprising in the U.S. aren't enough to worry about ...
• • •
Phuong was rejected in the final phase of her visa application, but it's not a huge deal. She needs to get a medical exam again because her previous exam expired. We reapply when she gets the exam and we should be good to go ... again. It's been a six-year struggle. Every choice we make comes with difficulties but schooling for our children remains the overriding concern. Of course, Covid and insurrection in the U.S. will figure into what we ultimately decide, but since my daughter exclusively speaks and reads English, the choices speak for themselves. And I won't lie. Teaching Joanna at home is tricky and exhausting. There's no question we've bonded, and Joanna has taught me more than I could ever teach her. But the fatigue factor enters into how well I prepare and deliver a lesson. I believe schools in the U.S. are better equipped than schools here -- and me -- to handle Joanna's unique skill set and personality. At least I hope they are.

New vision; Tet rules; fish, aggression, hope

My new eye doctor at the American Eye Center in Ho Chi Minh City has halted the pain in my eyes with prescription and over-the-counter medicine, and he got hold of the proper eye medicine for my glaucoma. Too bad he doesn't work on backs. I got new eyeglasses there as well, and since they're not scratched to blue blazes like all my other pairs, I can see again.  And I like what I see. My daughter Joanna's wall of fame --with animals and other dot-to-dots that she colors, and a few cut-and-paste projects -- is filled with 104 pictures that she has done in the past 71 days. I also see Joanna "sneaking" books and being able to read them on her own when no one's around. She won't do anything unless she's completely sure of herself. I see my son Elijah standing with assistance from chairs and tables and anything else he can get his chubby little hands on. For better or worse, he looks like his dad, but for better he seems to have his mom's pleasant disposition. Yes, my new glasses and healthier eyes have given me a wonderful outlook on life.

• • •
Christmas and New Year's aroused little interest here as people have already started gearing up for February's Tet holiday, the granddaddy of them all in Vietnam.  The gearing up includes cleaning and home construction, getting married, and even burying the dead. We experienced all of this over the traditional western holiday period. The ringing on Christmas Day came from the sound of a jackhammer demolishing the house behind us. The cleaning was provided by trash collectors, who hauled away our wrapping paper hours after Joanna opened her presents. There was a very tasteful and low-keyed wedding ceremony on New Year's Day and a very loud and tedious 3-day funeral service, featuring a 3 a.m. startup by the band. The funeral culminated with the body being taken from the house and driven down the street. I was told the body was in the house for a year before the ceremony.  I can't disagree with a friend's assessment that it's never dull on our street, although it was fairly quiet when my friend came to visit. The cleanup and construction will continue right up to Tet, which is February 12 this year.
• • •
We've got a new family hobby: fishing. Joanna and I go to her favorite fish store and pick up worms and crickets. Phuong (Santa) got Joanna a pole for Christmas and we all meet at the renovated park where we're good to go .... fishing. No catches yet, but I did see a gigantic catfish in the murky, mucky, yucky, black water, which comes from the Dong Nai River and local toilets, I suppose. I've gotten a few hits; one pretty strong that took the bait off the hook, but Moby Dick got away.  The crickets upset Joanna for some reason, and she let them all free the last time we went fishing. She'll let me hook the worms, however. I'm the pole-sitter (actually, I stand the whole time) and keep telling my daughter and wife that the big one is imminent.  Phuong walks Elijah around the park in his new Japanese stroller while Joanna plays. Meanwhile, I get plenty of unsolicited advice from passersby -- in decent English and unintelligible Vietnamese. Everyone is shocked I'm not rapidly hauling lunkers out of the muck, and they've told me on three occasions that other guys are catching lots of fish. Obviously, I wouldn't keep any fish I caught out that water. There are pictures of the canals and water somewhere on this blog.
• • •
A new coffee shop has opened at the park near our house, and it's going to have a gigantic fish tank and pool for kids. And the park's renovation is pretty much finished. It looks a lot better with brick paving.  Foot traffic has increased in the park, and unfortunately it included a couple of unsavory characters last Saturday, both of whom were very drunk. One tried to take a "friendly poke" at me, which I easily defected with my right hand while holding my walking stick in my left. The fat white monkey with the lame back still has a tiny bit of chi flowing. Another guy was mad that Joanna didn't respond to his drunken "happy new year" and grabbed her by both of her arms. I hip-checked the clown and signaled hands off. At the loud and excessive 3-day funeral service across the street from us, an older man approached Joanna saying some kind of greeting in Vietnamese (I guess). She backed up a little and the guy started to grab her arms; my walking stick intervened and the guy sulked away. Onlookers laughed at all three intrusions on our personal space. We've applied for our visas to the U.S. and their arrival is imminent, we hope, even though things aren't exactly ideal in the U.S. with Covid and bad politics raging. My holiday wish for hope and a new start were dismissed by some, who tried to sow seeds of dissent by invading the Capitol Building, and there are those who continue to foster division and hate. That won't affect our decision to return. We want the best for our children, and that's in the U.S. where we believe people will ultimately make good decisions and do what's right ... for all of us.

School says no more; 'tough guys'; holiday cheer

My wife made arrangements with a local school a couple of weeks ago to have our daughter attend afternoon sessions only. The school is part of a farm and has some caged animals and fish ponds for the kids to see. The afternoon sessions consisted of the kids basically hanging around and since they had already seen the two caged iguanas, caged turtle, hamsters, and rabbit, not much happened after 2 p.m. Joanna, however, was fascinated by the animals, especially the fish in the ponds. Joanna, being who she is, tested the limits, trying to touch the caged animals, and grab fish. She's watched a few too many Blippi and wildlife videos on YouTube. I talked to her about the danger of handling iguanas, and she seemed to get it. But apparently, Joanna got on someone's nerves, either the teacher's or director's, and she was told not to come back to the school. The teacher and director blamed each other for the decision, and we were told there wasn't enough staff to ensure her safety. Could be the case.  Joanna is very high energy and the other kids seem a little more passive. My wife Phuong was quite surprised and a little upset at the decision, and the way it was delivered. I shrugged it off. I've worked with Joanna five days a week for the past seven weeks and I've seen her reading and comprehension dramatically improve.  Her listening skills also have improved, and she follows direction much better. I remind myself that she's had to deal with a foreign language spoken in sharp tones, and she's been taught in a system of education that seems to focus on  uniformity, conformity, discipline and repetition. Not her style. She's bright and will figure things out over time. In defense of anyone trying to supervise Joanna, however, she's remarkably strong-willed, stubborn and focused, and can be quite the handful. These days she insists on walking to Lido coffee shop. The whole trip is at least a couple of miles, and it's hot, dirty, and mildly dangerous, of course. At Lido, Joanna discovered a fern that folds up and "wilts" when you touch it -- the Mimosa pudica or touch-me-not plant or shame plant. She loves the fish they keep there, and she spotted tadpoles in a planter bowl and a grasshopper on the grass and another one in the mimosa pudica. It's a long day when we have school in the morning and walk to Lido in the afternoon. It's almost becoming a routine.
* * *
Poor Joanna can't get a break sometimes, especially with other kids. We were walking to the little market near our house when a boy about 6 or 7 years old approached her in the street and stuck his middle finger in her face. Joanna was skipping in new shoes and the boy stopped her progress with his finger. He said something to her and walked away laughing. I asked the boy to stop and tell me what's up, and he laughed at me and walked away. I grabbed his hand and asked what finger he used and he started crying. His mother, or maybe she was  someone in his tribe, came running up and pulled him away. And guess what ... she was laughing, too. Another woman in the tribe sitting in front of their house apologized, and I told her in Vietnamese that Joanna is my little girl and that's not acceptable. The finger boy has said hello to us in the past as we walked up the street, but he was getting a little chestier and sillier each time. Apparently, something like this was bound to happen. Earlier in the week, Joanna and I were crossing a small side street when a "Grab" guy (Grab is a driver service here) on a motorbike came ripping around the corner. I put up my staff and pulled Joanna aside expecting to get hit. The guy stopped in time, then did the stare and glare routine as he rode by real slow. Then he stopped about 15 feet away to look back and stare and glare some more. I asked him why he was stopping to stare and glare if he was in such a hurry in the first place. He turned his bike around like he wanted a real confrontation. The last time this happened to me, a guy threw something at me and rode away like a rocket. The second guy just eventually rode away, looking back as if to say I was lucky this time. The real deal is that most of the people here are bright, nice and gentle. But the minority of morons really stands out sometimes. Folks in the U.S. know what I'm talking about.
• • •
Christmas remains wonderfully low-keyed here. Even though COVID is almost a non-factor in Vietnam, no one discusses presents and sales and all the other things associated with the Christmas holiday season in the U.S.  Some of that comes with Tet Holiday here, but not as much as in the U.S. with any holiday, really. Chalk it up to media and capitalism, I guess. Regardless, I wanted to sincerely wish all a wonderful holiday. It's been a tough year on many levels and everybody needs a shot in the arm, so to be speak. Now is the time to look back and learn from the past, but not dwell on it. The present and future offer hope and promise. That's worth celebrating.

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.

My son's 'mooncrawl'; food for thought; wonderful gift

 My son Elijah is now crawling, but he usually goes backwards. He does a unique version of Michael Jackson's moonwalk -- on all fours. Most of the time Elijah's belly is on the ground. Sometimes, he'll lift his knees, and prop himself up with his hands and feet like he's trying to stand, then he'll drop back down to all fours and crawl backwards. Actually, I saw him go forward a couple of times to crawl two "steps", but that's it. He may be crawling forward more, but I'm pretty absorbed with Joanna and her homeschooling. My son has one of those walkers with wheels, and without question, he's heck on wheels. He'll go forward, backward and deftly navigate though tight spaces. All at a high rate of speed.  The walker is tough on feet and ankles -- ours, not his -- if you're not paying attention, and he's started chasing after Joanna, who subtly reaches out and freezes the walker.  Elijah is quite large by local standards and has an amazing appetite for a 6-and-1/2-month-old.  He eats everything we eat except stuff like cheese and honey. He had three asparagus stalks the other day with some potatoes and chicken. And while he's generally easygoing, he loses his cool when the food is slow in coming. I don't want him to have weight issues like his dad, but he seems fine so far. Just big. He's a real joy with a charming smile. 
• • •
While on the topic of food, I'll note that Joanna's appetite has really improved since she left school. I handle all the cooking at home these days, and Joanna has taken a shine to my menu. It's meat, potatoes and vegetables, with the "meat" being salmon, chicken, chopped steak, sausages,  and pork. The potatoes will be microwave baked and sometimes mashed, but mashed is a workout here in the heat. Vegetables are usually zucchini, green beans or asparagus. My "school" day with Joanna always includes a long walk and park time, so her appetite has improved accordingly. As her teacher, I've learned that Joanna needs constant positive reinforcement -- she'll read extremely well and sound out difficult words if I can deliver chocolate or a trip to a nearby fish store or a video. She seems to have inherited some of my obsessiveness and all of my stubbornness, so I have to be careful about how much video time (and chocolate) she gets, and how I react when she flips out when the computer is shut down. I've gotten pretty good at redirecting her attention with other tasks and general silliness. But she'll sneak onto YouTube and watch some borderline animal videos with borderline language from time to time. However, Sesame Street remains one of her go-to favorites. She also likes Scratch Garden, which is OK. Her temper and strong will can be quite challenging, and oddly endearing. She knows what she likes and wants, and voices her views in no uncertain terms. She's becoming more proud of her dot to dot and coloring efforts on the wall of fame. She'll color "rainbow" rhinos, armadillos, whales and snails.
• • •
Our long walks have taken Joanna and me to a new coffee shop called Yorokobi. We'll still visit the Coffee House, which has the nicest staff on the planet. But Yorokobi has top-notch cheesecake and cupcakes.  The cappuccinos and staff are more than adequate, and since it's new, the clientele is low-keyed. The Coffee House attracts some customers who bring their computers to use the free internet and perhaps think they're a little high-brow, and they don't always seem enamored with Joanna's outgoing personality. I've seen enough eye rolling and cold stares at Joanna's (hyper)activity from some of the customers to know that it's time to scale back on our appearances there. Don't get me wrong. Most people are very friendly to Joanna, but change is good sometimes. Anyway, on our way back home from Yorokobi we pass a little fish store with an impressive collection of exotic fish. Joanna insists we go in and she goes absolutely bonkers if I don't stop there. I stop there. The staff has taken a shine to Joanna, who runs around the little store pointing at the fish yelling "look at that one, look at that, he's trapped, sorry eel."  She can name some, like the catfish and eels. The other day, one of the owners gave Joanna a fish -- which we later named Goldie after Elmo's goldfish on Elmo's World -- and a bowl with a cool blue light attached, as well as food for the fish. He wouldn't take any money from me. A generous, kind and wonderful gesture, indeed. Vietnam is like that ... one moment a motorbike will nearly run you down on the sidewalk, and the next moment you'll be overwhelmed by an act of kindness. 

Congrats to Joe Biden; homeschooling my daughter

 My wife was so happy when CNN called the election for Joe Biden that she left me a note on the dining room table congratulating Biden -- and me.  (The only thing I did was vote for President-elect Biden in a state that went to the loser of the election.) She was literally bouncing around the house. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I woke up at 3 a.m. and happened to see the news alert on the internet. Our family is very pleased with the result because it means we have the opportunity to come to the United States although we remain concerned about a surging pandemic that the current president has chosen to diminish and ultimately ignore. The silence of many who didn't congratulate the winner  speaks volumes about the divisions and difficulties President-elect Biden will face when he takes office. And the current president's lack of cooperation to assist President-elect Biden with the transition is consistent with the outgoing president's performance the past four years. When you consider the current secretary of state, attorney general and president, there's a real three stooges aspect to the current leadership --- sorry, no offense intended Curly, Larry and Moe, because, unlike you guys, the stooges leading the U.S. can be mean-spirited at times. While elated with the result and the fact that President-elect Biden got more than 75 million votes, I'm concerned that more than 70 million voted for the loser, who still refuses to admit he got whupped. Sometimes, losers don't like to admit they've lost. If the new vaccine is as good as advertised and President-elect Biden can get Covid under control, we're optimistic for a 2021 move to the U.S. It's essential for our daughter's education (see next item).
Oh, congratulations, President-elect Biden.
• • •
I'm homeschooling my daughter Joanna after her difficult stint at a local school. We start between 8 and 8:30 a.m. with some dancing and videos. Then we move on to dot-to-dot with numbers and letters, which she'll color with crayons. A good effort gets the picture on the wall of fame (actually, a window). There's seven pictures on the wall already -- two dinosaurs, an armadillo, a frog, turtle, whale and fire truck. We've only had eight sessions so she's doing great. She'll write letters and numbers, which isn't her favorite. Then we'll work on reading. I'll read to her and she'll read to me. She loves this and can read the basic stuff quite well. I'm so proud of how she tries to sound out words she doesn't remember. The first couple of days she'd just memorize the passage -- she's got a gift for memorizing -- but now she's actually reading the words. Her behavior and attitude have improved so much the past two weeks. I'm light on discipline and don't require her to take a nap, and she's blossomed. After lunch we'll head out, shopping for dad or going for a coffee or whatever. Along the way we snap photos of critters and I answer a constant barrage of questions from an inquisitive 4-year-old. The walk can get quite long so we're both tired at the end of the day. Our "school" day can wrap up around 2:30 or 3 p.m. or even 4, but really it's about 6 hours total including lunch and goof off time. The issue for me is that Joanna doesn't seem to need sleep, but I  do. I still prefer this to the 9 hours-plus she spent at her previous school and I know she prefers it too, and that's what's important.

• • •
My wife is focused on our 6-month-old, Elijah, who is determined to crawl perfectly.  He'll get up on all fours and gingerly bring a knee forward. Then he'll flop. He's so close to an all-out crawl. He's a huge guy, which is no shock since he loves big people food, especially salmon and potatoes.
• • •
The weather remains acceptable .... highs in the upper 80s with high humidity. Cloudy. On the minus side our air quality is unacceptable -- a rating of 4 or 5 daily with 5 being the worst ... other than red alert. The impact on my skin is noticeable, but that matters little at my age although Joanna always wants to know: What happened to daddy's face? Kids don't care too much about that stuff anyway. And that's a good thing.