Misc Photos

(sigh)

In case I forget for a moment that I live with two boys:

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Brent crawling around on the floor, chanting "Hungry, hungry poop-ivore. That means they eat their own.....", well - you get the idea.

Points for paying attention to recent lessons on carnivores and herbivores, and points for intelligently manipulating the english language.

Many many points taken away for presentation. Even if you are a cute and dimply dinosaur that's climbing on my back.

Put in my place

Brent woke up yesterday with a pretty good cold, and we spent the morning watching television, wrapped up in blankets, sheltered from the rain just outside. His eyes were glazed over and his mouth hung in an open position as an alternative to the unsuccessful attempts at breathing through his nose.

After making the boys some french toast sticks (I was told that homemade ones are even better than Burger King's - but I think they were buttering me up for something), I used a warm wet cloth to wipe the syrup from Brent's cheeks. As I finished up, he excitedly gave me a hug.

"You fixed it, Mommy! You made my nose work again!" He sniffed loudly, proud to feel the air once again entering through his nose, even though it still took some effort.

"I told you Mommies could fix anything," I said, hoping to work the placebo effect a bit more.

"I know," he replied. "But I always thought you were just joking about all that!"

Haiti: A reminder of how powerless we are against the forces of nature. May our thoughts be with those who remain, and those that are helping them. And may we also be thankful of all that we have in our lives at this moment. It hangs by the smallest of threads.

Trends

I don't know how the generation of my parents felt when they listened to or watched cartoons and movies with us as children. I know when I watch the classics of Disney, for example, I am generally entertained (or would be if I hadn't seen them so many times before). They are light-hearted for the most part, full of princes and princesses - beautiful people with happy endings. The battle of good vs. evil made simplistic and triumphant.

On the contrast, the last few cartoon movies I watched with the boys moved me to tears. Instead of black and white contrasts, artists in this day and age are exploring the multi-faceted layers of truth in our world. And if you haven't seen any of these movies, and you are inclined to sit down and spend an hour or two watching something outside your normal routine, I promise it will be worth your time. Also, you might want to stop reading here, because I'm going to be ruining your viewing with these spoilers.

"Wall-E" was one of the bigger hits to tackle environmental issues, as well as the isolationist direction of the human race due to technology. Humans are forced to live in space aboard a vessel because of the effects of our lifestyle - the global disasters, buildup of garbage, toxic fumes. Probes would be sent down periodically to check for signs of plant life, and procedures were put in place to re-establish colonies on the planet once it was suitable. But the people aboard the vessel have known no other way than what they were born into. In a robotic world, they darted around in their body-sized vehicles, complete with computer screens built in that they rarely looked away from. They were reduced to blobs of their former self, deep asleep in their own created world, literally unable to even walk. The story of the robot left behind on Earth is touching, and the happy ending makes you smile. But it also creates a seed of doubt within us. Will we, as a species, pull ourselves back from the brink? Will we open our eyes to the beauty that is already around us? Technology is wonderful, I sing its praises each day. But the black and white struggle will always be - what will we use it for?

Another, and possibly my favorite of these, is "Up". It was endearing on so many levels, both simple and complex. It begins by dealing head-on with the issue of our aging population - the forgotten champions of a generation who remember life - everyday life - without so many of the conveniences of today. Sadly, we can't be bothered to take the iPods out of ears to listen to their stories and their inadvertent wisdom. This land - with its constant growth, its tireless need for MORE - leaves little room for them. When the movie begins, we follow a beautiful couple on their journey from treehouses, to rocking chairs. And when his wife dies, we cry along with the grandfatherly hero (I challenge you not to). While he tries to resume a life without her, we feel the complexity of his pain. And just before his house is to be demolished, just before he gets into the car to be taken to a nursing home, when he decides to tie balloons to his house and relocate it to the paradise they had both dreamed of, but were never able to afford, we cheer him on - eyes glazed with pride. At the end of his adventure, he discovers that their true happiness never depended on the dreams they fell short of, but in the journey they spent together. And our final tears are topped with a large smile.

Yesterday we watched "Battle for Terra", which I resisted at first but was glad to have watched. At the beginning, you start to feel connected with a peaceful alien race, on a planet far from here. You aren't given the illusion that they are a perfect race, but they do coexist with each other and their land with far more success than we do. Soon, a space colony of humans appears in the sky and begins to aggressively abduct them. We meet two of our many heros in this film - a willful daughter who rescues and heals one of the human soldiers in hopes of finding her father again, and the soldier she rescues, born into life bred mentally and physically for battle in the ultimate fight of sustaining the human race. Long ago, with the resources of Earth dwindling, humans were able to colonize Mars and Venus. When they eventually demanded independence, all three planets were destroyed in a massive war, leaving this remaining colony wandering in search of a suitable planet for life. They find Terra, and their time is running short. It is the last hope for mankind. The military force of the human space colony overtakes the more peaceful ruling party and sends down a terraforming machine to transform this new planet's atmosphere - a process that would kill all of the alien race. The peaceful Terrians unearth their hidden weapons and defend their way of life in a moving war scene, but in the end, it is the human soldier who destroys the terraform process, killing himself and many of his own kind. He understood that our race was not worth saving if it continued to conquer and dominate, disregarding the lessons of its own past. In the end, the Terrians and humans begin to coexist, and our heroes have transferred their strength of mind to all that remember them.

I was worried, with all the battle scenes and talk of war, that the message would be lost to those so young. And later that evening, I asked both the boys whether they thought the movie was about war, or about peace. After consideration, they both said peace, with their favorite scene being the one where the terraforming machine is destroyed, and the toxic green cloud of oxygen remits - the Terrians, almost destroyed, can breathe once more.

Me, I'm thankful there are creative minds out there going beyond the fairy tales and princess gowns, and making the true beauty and morality of life entertaining to children of all ages.

New Year

Christmas has come and gone, with all its bells and whistles. The circumstances weren't ideal, but we made the best of them. For our Christmas eve, we set up a tent in the boys' room and filled it with blankets and stuffed animals and flashlights. When they were still awake with Christmas anticipation at 10 pm, we created an opportunity for them to catch a glimpse of Santa's hat above the back of the couch. A Santa who was waiting for them to finally go to sleep so he could deliver the presents. I'm giving myself a strong D+ in the parenting column for this particular idea. They both were pretty skeptical, and didn't seem to like any of my imaginative answers. Also, it weirded Brent out a bit that there was Some Stranger in the other room. So a few minutes later, we let them see that the cookies were gone and presents left in their place. We listened as the reindeer charged across the roof and flew off to the next house, and their mental exhaustion finally lulled them to sleep.

Three days later, they grew weary of the tent. A week later, there are still toys in various stages of being discovered, still games left to beat, still candy and cookies to eat. It's as if the year builds up to this grand finale, and then starts anew with a crisp winter morning.

Today, my alarm went off at 6:30 (yes, on purpose). I snuck into Brent's room and asked him if he still wanted to watch the sun rise with me. He murmured something that sounded like 'yes', and then pulled the covers over his head. I whispered that if he did, it was starting soon, and he leaped up and rubbed his eyes as we headed out to the door. I wrapped him in a large blanket, stuffed a knitted cap over his ears, and carried him out to the porch swing.

For a few minutes, we sat in the foggy darkness. I knew that the morning wouldn't produce any significant colors, but we were both excited. And after all, it was a New Year, why not ring the first morning in properly. It wasn't as quiet as I like my sunrises to be, but I couldn't have asked for better company. We watched the feral cats (and kitten) playing in the trees. We talked about the deer that frequent the woods line to the west, and how much fun it will be when we practice camping in the side yard.

Slowly the sky became a lighter shade of gray, which turned out to be all glamor this particular morning had in it, from the view of our swing. And yet it was simple, and beautiful, and perfect.

Mike made special milkshakes for breakfast, to go with my homemade chocolate chip pancakes. We declared it our New Year's morning tradition - it was that good.

Now we are back to our games and toys, enjoying the last few days of winter vacation. And settling in for another awe-inspiring year.