just thinking out loud, Uncategorized 0 comments on Why doesn’t diversity include religion?

Why doesn’t diversity include religion?

I went to visit a preschool for Amelia on Wednesday. There are a lot of really great things about it – an amazing play space, lots of focus on the arts and music, cool teachers.

One of their primary focuses, and selling points really, is their diversity. They talked about diversity of family – one parent, two parents, many parents. They talked about diversity in race. They even mentioned socio-economics (but it was quite hard to see around the school as we walked around).

I fell in love with the school more and more as we saw a music class, students doing all sorts of cool art projects, and the AMAZING play space.

We got to the end, and they started to speak about their end of week international music and dance event. This week is going to be holiday season themed, and the director of the school emphasized that they would minimize the role of religion. In my head I wanted to scream, “WHY!?!”.

There’s a very real trend in Californian liberalism that speaks to a diverse culture that excludes Christians. It may just generally exclude religion, but it very explicitly excludes Christians. I don’t understand that train of thought at all, and I find it rather offensive that anyone who can accept that there is a higher power and subscribes to the mythology surrounding that is cast out as a right-wing, narrow-minded nut job.

There is no holiday season without Christmas, and there is no Christmas without Christianity. There are plenty of things that radical Christians do that drives me crazy. Their stance on homosexuality. The hypocrisy I see in the South and Midwest around charity and government’s role in helping the poor. But I would never exclude Christians from a conversation because it’s an uncomfortable one. That’s a very narrow minded view of the world.

I also similarly doubt that there is nearly as big a deal made of not emphasizing the religious aspects of the other cultures that are celebrated in this weekly event. I can’t say for sure as I’ve never seen it, but if a culture celebrates its faith through music and dance, and the kids are singing and dancing, then I just don’t understand the difference.

I think there’s a genuine distrust of religion on the coasts in the US. Somehow we need to walk off of this cliff and disassociate religion with fanaticism and zealotry. The goal would be, of course, to re-introduce religion into civil discourse, and understand that intelligent minds can disagree and both be right.

Cutting religion out of the holiday season is the anti-thesis of that.

Fatherhood, Uncategorized 0 comments on A first kiss

A first kiss

Another short post for time keeping sake. I got my first proper smooch from Luka today. I conned Amelia into giving me a kiss to get something, and I turned to Luka and said, “Now you too Luka.”

He puckered up, and planted one on my cheek.

It was wonderful 🙂

Fatherhood, just thinking out loud, Life Updates, Uncategorized 0 comments on A body at rest stays at rest unless acted upon

A body at rest stays at rest unless acted upon

Saturday morning – filled with shrieks of joy. Pancakes sizzle in the frying pan. Amelia carts off to gym with Micky. Luka and I sit and watch the late Premier League soccer game while testing the boundaries of how much a son can do to drive his father crazy without injury or death entering the equation.

Lunch. Nap time. Swimming.

A young family tradition of fish sticks after swimming fulfilled with a stroll through the aisles of Whole Foods on the way home. Often a cheese stick, a bunch of grapes, or a chocolate bar fall victim to the the grabbing hands of a toddler.

Dinner. Bath time. Curious George. Stories. Songs. Bed.

Then silence – an envelope of exhaustion and thought.

From the thought has been an overbearing sense of isolation – friends not seen (weeks, months, and years); phone calls not made; a series of physical connections lost.

A constant conflict between being present as a father, a husband, and a friend. Not knowing how to balance my own triumvirate, inertia decides. And inertia finds me at home with cartoons one moment, and wrapped in a blanket next to Micky falling asleep to a movie that only just started the next.

I miss my friends. Mea culpa for the moments lost. I adore my family, with no regrets for the memories created.

The conflict continues without resolution. Only a next chapter…

Fatherhood, Uncategorized 0 comments on ISO: Recipe for freezing kids in this moment

ISO: Recipe for freezing kids in this moment

What a wonderful week of Amelia and Luka.

We spent last week in North Carolina visiting family and friends. It’s amazing to me how much they trust Doruk even though they barely see him. Maybe a month ago I would have said barely know him, but after this past week I know better than that. To know someone is clearly more than to have their presence be consistent in day-to-day life, but it took a 2.5 year old to teach me that.

Micky headed over the UK for a few days, and so the flight back was the three of us. They did wonderfully, and the folks on the plane made sure to say as much. Everyone is so impressed when a man can take his kids on his own on long haul flights. We’re definitely not post-sexism by any stretch of the imagination. Even so, I appreciate the accolades, and so let me not complain too much 🙂

Amelia had her 2.5 year old checkup on Wednesday. After screwing up the time, and moving things around at work, we finally got the ball rolling. Measurements came in at:

  • 38.5″ tall (> 100th percentile)
  • 35 lbs (75th percentile)
  • Smart, fun and awesome (okay, I made this one up)

The doctor suggested she get her flu shot, and so we buckled down and got ready (read, I buckled down and got ready). Amelia walked into the hallway, saw the nurse, and asked, “What’s that little girl doing?” (which is her token question about everyone these days). I explained that she was get Amelia’s shot ready, and then the nurse said that after she got her shot Amelia could get a sticker.

Amelia immediately responded with, “I want my shot.”

I wonder if any nurse has ever heard that before! When all was ready, and Amelia was in my lap, they rolled up her sleeve, pricked her, and… no tears, no fuss, just a request to go get her stickers.

It was AMAZING!

The next morning, Amelia decided to sleep in while Luka and I played in the living room before Noelle got here. He’s grown up so much in the last six weeks. Words. Opinions. Laughter. And the best smile I’ve ever seen. Luka smiles, and the world lights up. It’s truly amazing.

Then, today, the two of them chase each other around the house, “cook” breakfast, only eat the chocolate chips, and generally make an ordinary Saturday extraordinary. Amelia tops it all off by saying, “I’ll do the dishes” in a way only Amelia could.

So if anyone has a recipe for freezing these moments, and making sure they never go away, please let me know.