It's one a.m. and I just finished studying for the night. Specifically, I just finished memorizing the paradigm for present passive indicative contract verbs in koine Greek. Don't you wish you had my life?
Seriously, though, before I head to bed, I'm doing my part to keep this from becoming a total mommy blog :) Heading to bed, I'm thinking about the past few weeks, of which our dying car was only one of several dramatic episodes. And I'm realizing that I'm still struggling with perspective.
Lately, when people ask how I'm doing, all I can think about are the rough patches of the past few weeks and months. I even told one naive would-be small-talker that I would defer answering his question until next week, when I would hopefully have a happier answer to "how was your weekend?" And let's face it, the past few months haven't been easy on the emotions or the pocketbook.
But that's not even half the story.
For every trying moment, for every loss, for every stressful day, there are corresponding and conquering blessings. Our car died, and we've had new friends and classmates loan us their vans until we could get a more permanent ride. Our housing situation was up in the air for way too long, and in the end we landed in a great house with amazing landlords. Unpredictable appliances and sick kids cut into (or totally cut off) my study time, and yet I'm still doing well in class.
I'm not talking about mere silver linings in the midst of our frustrations and losses. These are the signs of God's abundant blessings in our lives. And yet I always think first of the dark spots. I wonder if we've become so caught up in the entertainment value of drama in film and on TV that we seek to highlight the drama in our lives. Life has drama, to be sure, and some lives have more of it than others. But if all we focus on is the tension, the unfulfillment, the disappointment, then we aren't being true to the whole story.
I want to tell the whole story of my week- not in all the details, both mundane and extraordinary- but the story with all its contours. I don't want to talk about the low points just for the sake of dwelling in them, but only insofar as they take me back up to the high points of God's redemptive work.
I'm not there yet. Thankfulness takes discipline. In the meantime, I may need to stop deferring answers and simply affirm to the people around me that God has been good to me. Better than I deserve, better than I understand, and better than I'm willing to admit.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Broken Cars and Thankful Hearts...
We love our '97 Mercury. It safely delivered us to our new home in Florida. I was hoping it would keep driving our family around for at least a few more months, but perhaps that is not to be...
Today it died.
I was driving the kids back from a church moms group activity. We had about 15 miles to go. All of a sudden, the power steering went out. The car was still running, but the battery light had turned on.
Rob was in Greek class. I texted him to let him know that the car might be dying (don't worry - I was at a red light while texting). I had a decision to make - should I pull over on the side of the road or keep going? I decided that I was more afraid of being stuck on the side of the road in the Florida sun/humidity with my kids than breaking the car even more. I kept driving and I started praying.
I called my mom to tell her the news. I knew she couldn't do anything, but it felt good to share my nervousness.
We made it to within a mile of our home. That's when the real fun started. The car started smoking, a lot. I couldn't tell if it was just overheating or if the car was on fire. Apparently other cars couldn't tell either, because multiple people called 911 saying my car was on fire.
The smoke was pouring into the drivers seat, passenger seat and across 4 lanes of traffic. I quickly pulled over, slammed the car into park, shut off the engine, jumped out of the car and started getting the kids. I always wondered if something like this happens - which kid do you grab first? I grabbed Cosi first, mostly due to proximity and the thought that she might be relied upon to stay in one place in the grass while I grabbed Trey.
By this time, a middle-aged man had stopped to help. I handed the kids off to him and went back to get my purse and the stroller. Maybe this was dumb. I guess it worked out okay, seeing as how the car didn't blow up.
My whole body was shaking. I called Rob, but I could barely hold the phone.
Then the fire trucks and police cars showed up. They were really nice. How cool that they drive out to help you when you're in trouble! The fireman opened the hood and looked inside. He told me that I was lucky to stop when I did, because the brakes were 3-4 pumps from being gone. I would have been driving with no steering and no brakes - not a good combination.
The car is now at a shop. We'll see what they say and if it's worth fixing. Mostly, we're just thankful to be safe at home. It was a good reminder of how often God takes care of us, even when we're unaware.
Anyhow, thanks for checking in as I process my afternoon. I'm off to take care of the kids while Rob studies Greek. I might even ride Rob's bike to the grocery store later :) Life goes on...
**Update - The car is dead. They repaired part of it (enough to charge us $250) and then said it would cost another $1,200 to repair. This is more than the value of the car, so we have now gone from a 1 car family to a 0 car family**
Today it died.
I was driving the kids back from a church moms group activity. We had about 15 miles to go. All of a sudden, the power steering went out. The car was still running, but the battery light had turned on.
Rob was in Greek class. I texted him to let him know that the car might be dying (don't worry - I was at a red light while texting). I had a decision to make - should I pull over on the side of the road or keep going? I decided that I was more afraid of being stuck on the side of the road in the Florida sun/humidity with my kids than breaking the car even more. I kept driving and I started praying.
I called my mom to tell her the news. I knew she couldn't do anything, but it felt good to share my nervousness.
We made it to within a mile of our home. That's when the real fun started. The car started smoking, a lot. I couldn't tell if it was just overheating or if the car was on fire. Apparently other cars couldn't tell either, because multiple people called 911 saying my car was on fire.
The smoke was pouring into the drivers seat, passenger seat and across 4 lanes of traffic. I quickly pulled over, slammed the car into park, shut off the engine, jumped out of the car and started getting the kids. I always wondered if something like this happens - which kid do you grab first? I grabbed Cosi first, mostly due to proximity and the thought that she might be relied upon to stay in one place in the grass while I grabbed Trey.
By this time, a middle-aged man had stopped to help. I handed the kids off to him and went back to get my purse and the stroller. Maybe this was dumb. I guess it worked out okay, seeing as how the car didn't blow up.
My whole body was shaking. I called Rob, but I could barely hold the phone.
Then the fire trucks and police cars showed up. They were really nice. How cool that they drive out to help you when you're in trouble! The fireman opened the hood and looked inside. He told me that I was lucky to stop when I did, because the brakes were 3-4 pumps from being gone. I would have been driving with no steering and no brakes - not a good combination.
The car is now at a shop. We'll see what they say and if it's worth fixing. Mostly, we're just thankful to be safe at home. It was a good reminder of how often God takes care of us, even when we're unaware.
Anyhow, thanks for checking in as I process my afternoon. I'm off to take care of the kids while Rob studies Greek. I might even ride Rob's bike to the grocery store later :) Life goes on...
**Update - The car is dead. They repaired part of it (enough to charge us $250) and then said it would cost another $1,200 to repair. This is more than the value of the car, so we have now gone from a 1 car family to a 0 car family**
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Only bad moms let their babies drink lattes...
I love coffee.
It helps me relax. I easily convince myself that it's a treat when I'm trying to diet. Drinking a cup of coffee feels luxurious to me, especially in the afternoon.
I love Target.
Some people return to the US (after living overseas) and are overwhelmed by the choices at American stores. They're used to having only 2 cereal choices, so having 35 choices (along with a bit of culture shock) might upset them. That's not me. Bring on the choices! I'll walk up and down the aisle, over and over, while smiling like a goon. Target gives me lots of choices, along with a relatively clean environment and red decor. I like that.
The merging of Starbucks and Target is pure genius.
Although I rarely buy anything at Starbucks (it's so expensive), I still think Starbucks at Target is awesome. I like to know that I could buy something, even if I never actually follow through on it.
Pure genius is expensive.
We've been back in the USA for about 2 months now and although I had been to Target more than once (and by 'once,' I mean a number closer to fifty), I had yet to purchase a Starbucks coffee during my shopping excursion. That is, until two days ago. We moved into our new home three days ago. We have to buy everything for starting a new life in the USA and a coffee maker had not yet made it into our home.
Starbucks+Target+young kids=not pure genius
As I entered Target with my two kids that day, my caffeine headache convinced me that purchasing a $4 iced latte was a good idea. What I did not factor in were the two leeches in my cart. I had forgotten their water cups in the car, so I was especially vulnerable to their cries of thirst. Trey, with his sad eyes and insistent use of sign language. Cosi, with her clenched fists of happiness, hands reached out to partake of my drink.
I am weak.
Any other mother might have firmly stated, "This is a mommy drink. You can have your water as soon as we return to the car." I didn't think of that. Instead, I decided to give them each one quick sip of a fully caffeinated iced latte. It seemed like a good idea at the time, except my kids aren't sippers. As soon as their greedy little hands got a hold of my latte, they started sucking like they hadn't had a drink for days. I tried to carefully pry the cup out of their hands, but those plastic cups are tricky and I didn't want it to bust open all over the cart. By the time I got the latte back, I had one sip and a cup full of ice.
Caffeinated kids+shopping at Target=lousy
My kids are hard to shop with sans coffee, but add coffee in the mix and it's pretty close to a miserable experience. Somehow they don't see the importance in mommy buying the correct extension cord.
Lesson learned=save money and make coffee at home
I bought a coffee maker the next day. I have a child gate on my kitchen entrance. I can hide in my kitchen and drink my coffee in relative peace. It's a good life :)
It helps me relax. I easily convince myself that it's a treat when I'm trying to diet. Drinking a cup of coffee feels luxurious to me, especially in the afternoon.
I love Target.
Some people return to the US (after living overseas) and are overwhelmed by the choices at American stores. They're used to having only 2 cereal choices, so having 35 choices (along with a bit of culture shock) might upset them. That's not me. Bring on the choices! I'll walk up and down the aisle, over and over, while smiling like a goon. Target gives me lots of choices, along with a relatively clean environment and red decor. I like that.
The merging of Starbucks and Target is pure genius.
Although I rarely buy anything at Starbucks (it's so expensive), I still think Starbucks at Target is awesome. I like to know that I could buy something, even if I never actually follow through on it.
Pure genius is expensive.
We've been back in the USA for about 2 months now and although I had been to Target more than once (and by 'once,' I mean a number closer to fifty), I had yet to purchase a Starbucks coffee during my shopping excursion. That is, until two days ago. We moved into our new home three days ago. We have to buy everything for starting a new life in the USA and a coffee maker had not yet made it into our home.
Starbucks+Target+young kids=not pure genius
As I entered Target with my two kids that day, my caffeine headache convinced me that purchasing a $4 iced latte was a good idea. What I did not factor in were the two leeches in my cart. I had forgotten their water cups in the car, so I was especially vulnerable to their cries of thirst. Trey, with his sad eyes and insistent use of sign language. Cosi, with her clenched fists of happiness, hands reached out to partake of my drink.
I am weak.
Any other mother might have firmly stated, "This is a mommy drink. You can have your water as soon as we return to the car." I didn't think of that. Instead, I decided to give them each one quick sip of a fully caffeinated iced latte. It seemed like a good idea at the time, except my kids aren't sippers. As soon as their greedy little hands got a hold of my latte, they started sucking like they hadn't had a drink for days. I tried to carefully pry the cup out of their hands, but those plastic cups are tricky and I didn't want it to bust open all over the cart. By the time I got the latte back, I had one sip and a cup full of ice.
Caffeinated kids+shopping at Target=lousy
My kids are hard to shop with sans coffee, but add coffee in the mix and it's pretty close to a miserable experience. Somehow they don't see the importance in mommy buying the correct extension cord.
Lesson learned=save money and make coffee at home
I bought a coffee maker the next day. I have a child gate on my kitchen entrance. I can hide in my kitchen and drink my coffee in relative peace. It's a good life :)
Thursday, July 26, 2012
kids crack me up (again)
Later in the day...
April: "Cosi, do you want me to read you that book?"
Cosi: "No, I want Trey to read it to me."
Trey: (random giggle)
Apparently Cosi thinks her 15 month-old brother is a super-genius...
April: "Cosi, do you want me to read you that book?"
Cosi: "No, I want Trey to read it to me."
Trey: (random giggle)
Apparently Cosi thinks her 15 month-old brother is a super-genius...
kids crack me up...
(background information - Cosi is able to put her shoes on by herself, but she'd rather have other people do it for her)
Cosi: "Trey! Trey! Will you help me with my shoes?"
Trey: dutifully runs over and attempts (unsuccessfully) to help put Cosi's shoes on
This has happened more than once.
Cosi: "Trey! Trey! Will you help me with my shoes?"
Trey: dutifully runs over and attempts (unsuccessfully) to help put Cosi's shoes on
This has happened more than once.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Lessons in Grace (or Why This Mama is Super-Proud of Her Little Girl)
It is much easier to show grace when you have previously experienced a need for grace.
The Back-Story, Summer 2011
Last summer, Cosi was still pretty new to our family and had many lessons to learn on proper behavior. One day, while I was waiting for Cosi to climb through a Chick-fila play place, I heard (from within the play-place) a little girl yell "that girl hit me." I was pretty sure "that girl" was probably a confused Cosi, who didn't really know how to play with other kids and might have felt threatened by the little girl. So, I climbed up into the play-place, found Cosi and brought her out. As we were exiting, I heard the mother of the offended girl ask, "which girl hit you?" and I saw the accusing finger reach out in Cosi's direction.
I was embarrassed and unsure of what to do. What I really wanted was grace and understanding for Cosi. For good and for bad, I constantly feel a need to defend and protect my little girl from a world that has not always treated her well.
As I glanced at the mother, I saw hatred in her eyes. She was protecting her daughter and was waiting to watch me punish my daughter. I apologized to the mother and daughter. I offered a bit of an excuse by saying, "My daughter has just joined our family. She's still learning." I told Cosi to apologize and helped her to say she was sorry.
Then, I turned to Cosi. I was planning to talk to her some more and have her sit on my lap to take a break and "think about" her behavior. However, the little girl continued to stand next to us and stare at Cosi. Her mom allowed her to do this (and actually stood back to watch, too). It was like she wanted to say "haha, you're being punished and I'm going to watch!" Cosi, not one to back down ever, then brought on my most embarrassing mom moment yet. Cosi looked right into the girls eyes (the girl was about one foot away) and spit in the girl's face.
At this point, the mother gasped. With a horrified expression on her face, she whisked her daughter away and fled the play-place.
Okay - don't worry, that's not why I'm proud of Cosi.
Yesterday, Summer 2012
Yesterday, we were back at Chick-fila and in the play-place. Cosi was trying to climb up the steps to get to the slide, but a two year-old boy blocked the way. I saw him swing at her and knock her in the head. Kids started yelling, "that boy's hitting people." Cosi came down the steps and ran to me. She was okay, so we went to find the little boy's parents.
As the little boy's mom was talking to him, Cosi (always up for telling a good story) ran to tell Rob what had happened. Rob asked her, "Did you forgive him for hitting you?" Cosi thought about it and said, "no." Then, she ran back to the boy and started yelling "Boy! I forgive you!"
And, here's where Cosi's parents get really proud. Not only did Cosi forgive the boy, but she proceeded to invite him to play with her. (He didn't really want to play with her, but that's not the point)
As it turns out, this little boy just joined his family two months ago. He is from Bulgaria and he's just now learning a few lessons on proper behavior.
I was able to talk to his mom and encourage her. The new mother is a bit frazzled and overwhelmed. I knew the feeling.
Cosi continued to follow the boy around and try to play with him. She has a pretty strong mothering instinct in her and she was happy to reach out to the boy (whose name is Christian). And, whether or not he appreciated it at the time, I think it was good for him to get somesmothering extra loving from a well-meaning 4 year-old.
Anyhow, this incident made me reflect on how we respond to people who hurt us. Do we continue the cycle of hurt? Do we rejoice in their pain or punishment? Or - do we forgive them and reach out to them with grace?
My little girl made the choice to forgive and I am super-proud of her :)
The Back-Story, Summer 2011
Last summer, Cosi was still pretty new to our family and had many lessons to learn on proper behavior. One day, while I was waiting for Cosi to climb through a Chick-fila play place, I heard (from within the play-place) a little girl yell "that girl hit me." I was pretty sure "that girl" was probably a confused Cosi, who didn't really know how to play with other kids and might have felt threatened by the little girl. So, I climbed up into the play-place, found Cosi and brought her out. As we were exiting, I heard the mother of the offended girl ask, "which girl hit you?" and I saw the accusing finger reach out in Cosi's direction.
I was embarrassed and unsure of what to do. What I really wanted was grace and understanding for Cosi. For good and for bad, I constantly feel a need to defend and protect my little girl from a world that has not always treated her well.
As I glanced at the mother, I saw hatred in her eyes. She was protecting her daughter and was waiting to watch me punish my daughter. I apologized to the mother and daughter. I offered a bit of an excuse by saying, "My daughter has just joined our family. She's still learning." I told Cosi to apologize and helped her to say she was sorry.
Then, I turned to Cosi. I was planning to talk to her some more and have her sit on my lap to take a break and "think about" her behavior. However, the little girl continued to stand next to us and stare at Cosi. Her mom allowed her to do this (and actually stood back to watch, too). It was like she wanted to say "haha, you're being punished and I'm going to watch!" Cosi, not one to back down ever, then brought on my most embarrassing mom moment yet. Cosi looked right into the girls eyes (the girl was about one foot away) and spit in the girl's face.
At this point, the mother gasped. With a horrified expression on her face, she whisked her daughter away and fled the play-place.
Okay - don't worry, that's not why I'm proud of Cosi.
Yesterday, Summer 2012
Yesterday, we were back at Chick-fila and in the play-place. Cosi was trying to climb up the steps to get to the slide, but a two year-old boy blocked the way. I saw him swing at her and knock her in the head. Kids started yelling, "that boy's hitting people." Cosi came down the steps and ran to me. She was okay, so we went to find the little boy's parents.
As the little boy's mom was talking to him, Cosi (always up for telling a good story) ran to tell Rob what had happened. Rob asked her, "Did you forgive him for hitting you?" Cosi thought about it and said, "no." Then, she ran back to the boy and started yelling "Boy! I forgive you!"
And, here's where Cosi's parents get really proud. Not only did Cosi forgive the boy, but she proceeded to invite him to play with her. (He didn't really want to play with her, but that's not the point)
As it turns out, this little boy just joined his family two months ago. He is from Bulgaria and he's just now learning a few lessons on proper behavior.
I was able to talk to his mom and encourage her. The new mother is a bit frazzled and overwhelmed. I knew the feeling.
Cosi continued to follow the boy around and try to play with him. She has a pretty strong mothering instinct in her and she was happy to reach out to the boy (whose name is Christian). And, whether or not he appreciated it at the time, I think it was good for him to get some
Anyhow, this incident made me reflect on how we respond to people who hurt us. Do we continue the cycle of hurt? Do we rejoice in their pain or punishment? Or - do we forgive them and reach out to them with grace?
My little girl made the choice to forgive and I am super-proud of her :)
Monday, June 4, 2012
America the Uggle
Overheard yesterday in April's parents house (which, by the way, is in America)
Cosi: I want to go to (East Asian city where we once lived)
April: Really? Why?
Cosi: I don't want to go to America.
April: Why not?
Cosi: It's uggle (rhymes with "snuggle," Cosi's word for 'ugly')
April: America is ugly?
Cosi: yeah, we have to find another airplane.
I guess we never really thought much that Cosi might prefer East Asia. Maybe once she gets to Disney World she'll change her mind.
Cosi: I want to go to (East Asian city where we once lived)
April: Really? Why?
Cosi: I don't want to go to America.
April: Why not?
Cosi: It's uggle (rhymes with "snuggle," Cosi's word for 'ugly')
April: America is ugly?
Cosi: yeah, we have to find another airplane.
I guess we never really thought much that Cosi might prefer East Asia. Maybe once she gets to Disney World she'll change her mind.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Cosi's birth story, according to Cosi...
I was already large with child (Trey) when we adopted Cosi. This has shaped her life. She is obsessed with pregnant women. She loves to touch their bellies, try to pull up their shirts (sorry!) and talk to them about their babies.
Then she tells them that their baby will 'come out.' She likes to elaborate a bit on this. Her knowledge comes from one picture of Trey that was taken 5 seconds after he emerged from my nether-regions. He was covered in blood. Cosi thought this was awesome, so awesome that she stared at it for 10 minutes the first time she saw it. At that point, she wouldn't even watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so her tired mother might have been willing to let her look at the picture a few times a day. She was really into it. She even asked for it by name, "mama, Cosi see blood." She might be a doctor or nurse someday. Who am I to argue with the girl's desire to see blood? In fact, as of yesterday, her new favorite show might be 'A Baby Story' on TLC, or at least the birth part of that story.
Anyhow, as you might imagine, all this fascination with Trey's birth led to a desire to have her own story. This was expressed by Cosi telling me, "Cosi born." Trying to be as accurate as possible, here are some highlights of what we talk about...
You came out of a lady's belly. You came out of mommy & daddy's heart. She'll smile at us when she authoritatively tells us that she came out of our hearts.
When you came of of the lady's belly (by some mysterious process that she has yet to ask about), a doctor helped you. You were soooo little, (and she was, about 3 lbs) but you were strong. You were covered in blood, because all babies are covered in blood. A nurse washed you and cleaned you. You might have been cold, so the nurse wrapped you in a warm blanket. If you were hungry, then the nurse gave you a bottle of milk.
Sometimes when we talk about her story, we cuddle her just like we would cuddle a baby. We'll pretend to wash her with water. We'll hold up a pretend bottle and she'll pretend to drink it. She loves it.
We're so sad that her birth mother missed out on raising such a precious little girl, but we're very thankful for this spunky gift from God in our lives :)
Then she tells them that their baby will 'come out.' She likes to elaborate a bit on this. Her knowledge comes from one picture of Trey that was taken 5 seconds after he emerged from my nether-regions. He was covered in blood. Cosi thought this was awesome, so awesome that she stared at it for 10 minutes the first time she saw it. At that point, she wouldn't even watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so her tired mother might have been willing to let her look at the picture a few times a day. She was really into it. She even asked for it by name, "mama, Cosi see blood." She might be a doctor or nurse someday. Who am I to argue with the girl's desire to see blood? In fact, as of yesterday, her new favorite show might be 'A Baby Story' on TLC, or at least the birth part of that story.
Anyhow, as you might imagine, all this fascination with Trey's birth led to a desire to have her own story. This was expressed by Cosi telling me, "Cosi born." Trying to be as accurate as possible, here are some highlights of what we talk about...
You came out of a lady's belly. You came out of mommy & daddy's heart. She'll smile at us when she authoritatively tells us that she came out of our hearts.
When you came of of the lady's belly (by some mysterious process that she has yet to ask about), a doctor helped you. You were soooo little, (and she was, about 3 lbs) but you were strong. You were covered in blood, because all babies are covered in blood. A nurse washed you and cleaned you. You might have been cold, so the nurse wrapped you in a warm blanket. If you were hungry, then the nurse gave you a bottle of milk.
Sometimes when we talk about her story, we cuddle her just like we would cuddle a baby. We'll pretend to wash her with water. We'll hold up a pretend bottle and she'll pretend to drink it. She loves it.
We're so sad that her birth mother missed out on raising such a precious little girl, but we're very thankful for this spunky gift from God in our lives :)
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Back in the USA, quick post
We're still alive.
We just arrived back in the USA and we're jet-lagging, but we're alive.
Packing up 12 years of life in Asia for Rob and 6 years of life in Asia for me and 1 year of life in Asia for our two young kids = exhausting and all-consuming, but we're coming out of it.
I can't remember if we've posted about our move on the blog. I don't think we have, but many of you receive our email updates, so you probably know. Rob is over halfway done with his MDIV. We're moving to Orlando, so Rob can finish his degree. Cosi will also be working on a degree in preschool. She's super excited, as most preschool children tend to be.
Our other big news is that we're preparing to leave the company that we work for. The change will be official on August 1st. We'll be switching to a new missions agency that partners missions work with seminary learning. As always, lots of things to trust God with - it's a good place to be...
Cosi's big news is that she's going swimming in Nana & PawPaw's pool tomorrow. Her clenched fists of happiness convey the depth of her excitement.
Trey's big news is that he can jump. Well his feet don't really leave the ground, but his parents think his 'upward twitch' will never get old.
Kind of missing Asia right now....jet-lag is good for processing....kids sleeping is also good for processing...
We just arrived back in the USA and we're jet-lagging, but we're alive.
Packing up 12 years of life in Asia for Rob and 6 years of life in Asia for me and 1 year of life in Asia for our two young kids = exhausting and all-consuming, but we're coming out of it.
I can't remember if we've posted about our move on the blog. I don't think we have, but many of you receive our email updates, so you probably know. Rob is over halfway done with his MDIV. We're moving to Orlando, so Rob can finish his degree. Cosi will also be working on a degree in preschool. She's super excited, as most preschool children tend to be.
Our other big news is that we're preparing to leave the company that we work for. The change will be official on August 1st. We'll be switching to a new missions agency that partners missions work with seminary learning. As always, lots of things to trust God with - it's a good place to be...
Cosi's big news is that she's going swimming in Nana & PawPaw's pool tomorrow. Her clenched fists of happiness convey the depth of her excitement.
Trey's big news is that he can jump. Well his feet don't really leave the ground, but his parents think his 'upward twitch' will never get old.
Kind of missing Asia right now....jet-lag is good for processing....kids sleeping is also good for processing...
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Reading this Post Will Be a Waste of Your Time, I Promise.
Seriously, I'm warning you. The only benefit I gained from writing it was that it may have been a bit cathartic. You will gain no benefit from reading it. A father should never spend so much time thinking about his kids' TV shows...
Once your kids start watching TV, you soon realize that
their standards of a good show aren’t like yours or mine. I look for an engaging plot with either
humorous or suspenseful surprises. I
want believable characters, realistic dialogue, consistent narrative flow.
My daughter wants to watch Donald and the Beanstalk 10 times
a day.
If not that, she wants to watch the episode where Goofy gets
turned into a baby.
My son just wants to get up and do his adorable baby dance when the "Hot Dog Dance" music begins.
I’m speaking, of course, about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse- an educational, entertaining,
computer-animated cartoon aimed at kids my daughter’s age. In each episode, Mickey and friends must
solve a problem using various “tools” supplied by the freakishly prescient
“Mousekedooer” and brought to them by the subservient, ill-used, and (we later
learn) emotionally-stunted machine named “Toodles.”
The problem is, being more deprived of grown-up conversation
than before I had kids, my mind starts to pay too much attention to the
cartoons. Way too much attention. And I start to apply some of the skills I
picked up studying philosophy to evaluate what’s going on in the Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse Universe. There are about 100
episodes, I’ve seen about 80 of them (not counting repeat viewings of the same
episode). I've seen so much of this show that I tried to correct an error on its Wikipedia article (someone went back an undid my correction, but they're wrong. So very wrong). Suffice to say, I have thought way too much about this show.
For example, I find myself concerned at how the character
Pete the Cat is portrayed. In early
episodes Pete is often made out to be that “slightly bad guy” (more on that
concept later). He is greedy- often
charging admission into various locations that Mickey and friends find
themselves. It is interesting to note
that no one questions Pete’s right to
charge admission to the public park, the lake, the Ferris wheel, etc. It seems that his authority is legitimate, or
else his size answers for him (he’s the biggest anthropomorphic character, and
aside from Willie the Giant, the biggest character on the show). Though it is never stated explicitly, one
gets the sense that Pete is ‘trouble’- he’s in the way, he’s “that sneaky
Pete.” But in reality, Pete is one of
the only characters in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse universe who actually works for a living! He’s industrial, entrepreneurial. Without Pete, there’s no way to buy stamps,
ride a boat, buy a hat and tie, etc. No
one else on the show ever seems to work for a living (aside from Clarabelle cow, the special events emcee and the proprietress of the “Moo Mart”- which, I assume, uses her own milk-
gross!). For Mickey and friends, the world is a playground, life
is a frolic, and anyone who tries to make a buck is just getting in your way. That seems to be the message we get. While Mickey and friends are having
“friendship day,” “do your favorite thing day,” or “art day,” Pete is hard at
work, keeping society running smoothly.
Yet for all his hard work, Pete is the closest thing the
show has to an antagonist. If the plot
requires someone to cause problems, Pete’s your guy. But what I’ve noticed is that Pete seldom (if
ever) is portrayed as intentionally malicious.
Even when he’s at his worst (trying to steal a recipe, dog-napping
Clarabelle’s dog, etc.), in the end we see that he’s just craving some
attention, he’s going about things the wrong way, or he just got carried
away. When caught causing trouble in the
episode “Minnie Red Riding Hood,” Pete explains before dashing off, “Sorry, I
can’t help it.” Pete is the victim of
his own misbehavior! In most cases, you
are supposed to feel sympathy towards Pete.
The same could be said for Willie the Giant, who in earlier episodes is
sometimes an antagonist (until Mickey gets to know him, then they become
friends). In the episode “Donald and the
Beanstalk” (which supports a disturbing view of right and wrong that I shall
address at another time), it turns out that the big scary giant really just
wants (spoiler alert!) something to hug.
The overall message seems to be that there really aren’t bad
people. If you think someone is bad,
they’re probably just misunderstood. In
most cases, the only real antagonist is our circumstances, which we overcome
through teamwork and creative use of resources.
Well, that's a few initial observations. Some possible topics for future entries:
Magic, Technology, and Professor Ludwig von Drake
Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle as Female Archetypes (or Why
Minnie is Good for Me but I’m Hopelessly Drawn to Daisy)
The Theft of Boo-boo Chicken and Other Acts of Questionable Morality
The Suspension of Physics within the Clubhouse Universe
The Theft of Boo-boo Chicken and Other Acts of Questionable Morality
The Suspension of Physics within the Clubhouse Universe
Character Size and Intelligence- Inversely Proportional?
The Portrayal of Non-Anthropomorphic Animals as a Servant Class
Toodles- The Emotionally Needy Machine
Boy Characters Don't Touch Girl Characters (or "We Plan to Market this in a Very Different, Very Conservative Nation, Which Also Explain Why You Never See Any Words or Letters on the Show")
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