The last of Christmas

Tonight was our Bronson family Christmas. We had to postpone it because of Jenny's work schedule this year. She has to work every other holiday, and this one fell on Christmas day. Still, that morning wasn't so bad, she was here for opening gifts and eventually had to leave around 10:00. It felt a bit odd. this year.. postponing and drawing out Christmas like that. Mom made a ham dinner, my sister and her family were there. It was a good time.

The kids are finally done with presents... it seemed especially long this year. We can all finally calm down and relax a bit. They are watching Arthur right now.

Tomorrow is the last day of this blog. Tomorrow....

Well, that is that for now. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Birthday Party

It is tough to have your birthday so close to Christmas. Nora's birthday was nice, small and nice. It was even smaller than normal because we decided to separate her birthday into a friends birthday and a family birthday. Today was her family birthday. I made a pretty good rendition of Madeline for her cake. It has been something of a challenge for me to keep up with the kids cakes as they get older. We never buy them cakes. Jen makes one from scratch and I decorate it.... actually, I am kind of proud of this one.

Nora has been a little over excited. Its funny, its like she doesn't know how to deal with herself. She has been doing things that are out of her character. She was very very excited for today. She is deciding how to act like a six year old. She is so different from Henry, she is very aware of who she is. Henry can be kind of clueless as to what his responsibilities are and...well... the world around him in general. Nora is the complete opposite.

She was really happy to be turning six, for the simple reason that she knew that getting older and what would come with that. Smart.

After the party our friend Anna came over for a visit. This is a rare treat. Anna is a linguist working with the Cameroon people of Africa. She is mapping out the Ipoulo language for the first time so she can translate the gospel into their own language. Their language is completely unwritten... so it is a big challenge. Jen was great friends with Anna in high school and it came as a surprise to all of us that this became her lot in life. She wasn't prone to things like this at all. She has been gone for four years and just came back for a year of schooling and rest. She will go back for another three or four year period after and will continue in this method... well, I guess until she is done.

It is beyond interesting talking to her. She lives a kind of transitory life style, living with various people in their mud-brick huts and facing myriad difficulties, from the obvious lack of electricity and modern amenities to the difficulties of living in a culture that is completely foreign and, by our standards, very sexist. She is unmarried and white and unskilled as far they are concerned and because of this, they don't know what to make of her. She is unable to farm because she is unable to own land and is therefor reliant on other people to give her food. Fortunately, the Cameroon people are part of a very generous culture and sharing the small sustenance they have is a normal part of their life.

Anna is strong and very smart, but she still struggles with loneliness and culture clash. I know that both Jenny and I miss her a lot and feel for her in dealing with her difficulties. She works with Wycliff Translators and takes in donations to keep her going. Please contact me if you are inclined to give to her. I will hook you up with her contacts at Wycliff. She also loves getting mail of any type (a four hour walk to town). She used to be an elementary teacher and loves to receive and respond to letters from children. I am looking forward to her visit again in June, before she returns to Africa.

db

Nora Day

We went out for Nora's birthday today. She is getting so big... and old... and smart. For her birthday today she decided that she wanted to go to the MIT museum. Now before everyone bows down to her complete genius, please know, she had ulterior motives. We went this past summer and bought her one of those... hmm... hard to explain...filled with water and an oil solution...well, here is a picture at least. Nora's broke and she wanted another one. When we asked her where she wanted to go, she brought up MIT. This is Nora kind of smart... sharp memory and a definite plan to know what she wants and how to get it.

We went to Boston today. It was really nice... cold... but nice. Both Nora and Henry's favorite part, every time we go to Boston, is the subway. Henry actually complained today that he couldn't stay on the subway longer. They sat there... on their own, staring out of the window like they were flying through Disneyworld. 

The MIT museum is pretty cool. The best part, by far, is the Gestural Engineering display by Arthur Ganson. If I remember right, it was an "Arthur" cartoon, that we were watching this summer that had Ganson as a "guest appearance" that prompted us to go in the first place. Ganson's machines are so imaginative and graceful. We spent most of our time there, with a bit spent in the hologram exhibit as well. 

Nora retrieved her prize. We went out for a late lunch with the full intention of going to some cool Chinese food place. On the way we passed...the dreaded... McDonald's. This is Nora's kryptonite. We tried... we convinced... Jen actually stood outside for a bit... but it was Nora's birthday after all. We went in. 

McDonald's food is interesting. It tastes really good, there can be no argument over that. I just hate how after I eat... say... over 1000 calories worth of food, I still feel hungry. And, it seems to set me up for wanting to eat crappy things in the future. It's like there is some evil plot...dark minds in the background, enslaving the common people. Actually....there might be. 

We were home by 4:00. We asked Nora what she wanted for supper and she answered pretty quickly that she wanted Spaghetti and Meatballs. Actually, pasghetti and meatballs (love that). I have a mean recipe for meatballs, but I went a little heavy on the basil.. kind of messed them up a bit. But she was happy and that is what matters. We are having her party for family tomorrow. She is having (which means I am making) a Madeline cake.... blue dress or yellow? Visible appendectomy scar? or is that creepy? 

Happy Birthday Nora. 

Order in the chaos

The day after. We did clean and we did sort. We did it all first thing in the morning.... and it was good. The kids have their respective toys in their respective places. I actually succeeded in having them take out one toy at a time, play with it, and put it away before taking out another one. It wasn't all that hard either. It just took a lot of my attention... and that is ok with me. I also went back to Klems to get them to yank off a security tag that they had forgotten on a John Deer Sweatshirt that Henry got me for Christmas. (He knows me well).

Henry asked me to help him play with a "Snap circuit" game that we got him. I remember having something like this when I was little. I knew he would like it. We actually played for about an hour. He started off kind of slow. I think he was a bit overwhelmed, but after the first couple, he took right to it. He was making all sorts of things happen (there are just over a hundred little projects that can be made). Nora also took an interest. She is so smart... So I let her take a shot at it. Of course, she got it right away. They were both really into it! We talked about what makes a circuit and what a resistor does. We saw heard the speaker become quieter when the current passed through the resistor. We saw the fan move slower because the current passed through a light bulb first. It was a pretty great afternoon. They were so proud. Nora had just finished making a small plastic fan go around when she nudged it by mistake with her finger and the thing took off helicopter style right in the kitchen. We all kind of jumped back and laughed.... and then did it again and again.

It's Wednesday. Half way through winter break. I got a good jump on my correcting, the kids had a pretty great day. Things are good.

Christmas Morning

The build up is almost unbearable. I remember willing myself, desperately, to try to sleep so I would wake up and Christmas morning would be here. All of the specials... all of the songs... all of the waiting. I still love Christmas morning, and it has taken on a new kind of anticipation. I want my kids to feel that magic. I want them to wake up, and come down stairs and see the tree and be blown over by the spirit of it all. It takes some orchestrating. I don't want to buy everything in the world for them. I mean I can't anyway (hope they hate apple products because I don't see an ipad or, god forbid, an iphone, in their near future). But I want them to feel heard, to feel known. I think that is the magic of all of the presents at Christmas. It is knowing that somebody, be it Santa or otherwise, knows you well enough to understand who you are and what you like, and is generous enough to send you things to further your interests. It is kind of the opposite of that gift that you received from your distant great Aunt or Uncle that was nice enough to give you something, but had no real idea of who you were, and you knew that because they got you a book about baseball... because boys like baseball. Henry, above anything, wanted a squid hat this year. He had seen one at the big E and has remained wanting one since then. They don't sell squid hats very many places. Jenny actually found one on Free Cycle and we were able to do the impossible. We let Santa take the credit for that one. :) Generally though, Santa gets the second tier gifts and we take credit for the ones that really count.

I want them to feel heard and understood and cared for. I think Jenny and I do a pretty great job of that every year. Buying them things is like planning for their future. What ways  do we see them going in. What things do we know that they want to explore further. We don't really buy them much throughout the year... so Christmas is a pretty important time.

They freaked out today. Not in a good way either. The morning was incredible. I woke up... of course... two hours before anybody else (5:00) and waited for everyone to wake up. I turned on the Christmas lights... and read. 7:00 saw both Nora and Henry trooping downstairs, smiles beaming on their faces. I was aware enough to have had a video camera waiting and got them right when they saw the tree. YES! We go slow on Christmas mornings. If they want to explore a gift... they can. Although, Nora was all about blazing through gifts and Henry wanted nothing more than to explore the drawings on each of the pages of the books that we gave him. It was a bit hard to orchestrate. After the morning, I think that Nora was so hyped up that she couldn't calm down. She opened all of her games and mixed all of the pieces into a massive mound of chaos... it took forever to straighten out. They fought...there was chaos. When bed time finally came around, I went upstairs and sat with them and planned out tomorrow. Tomorrow we will clean each of their rooms. We will sort each of these toys and we will only have one out at a time. Order in the chaos.... hopefully the day will be a bit more .....sane.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve always means partying with my Mom's side of the family. I love them... a lot.  We have a men's and women's yankee swap. We celebrate my Gramma's Birthday. There is so much food that it becomes impossible to stop eating it. I almost look forward to it more than Christmas morning... almost. I could really go on forever about how much I love them all. It is hard though to really get across, without going on and on, the sense of family that I have when I am with them.

Let it be enough to say that I miss them all, and that I look forward to this party all year long.

Chaucer in December

I woke up nice and early and went out for a walk this morning with Chaucer. I only intended for it to be a quick walk, but it turned out to be a pretty interesting, and much longer, experience. It was pleasantly cold. Some mornings that I walk with Chaucer in the winter are just plain cold cold. This one was crisp and nice. I was only going to walk to the river and back but as I neared the small bridge, Chaucer took off and met up with a man getting out of his truck. I have seen him around the park before, I have even spoken to him before. I used to think he was a ranger, but he isn't, just a hunter and dog enthusiast. His name is Dennis. He has two Labs, one yellow and one black. I went up to retrieve my retriever and he was patting him and taking out his own two dogs. I was ready for those cursory and quick "hi's" and "have a nice day's" but to my surprise he asked me to walk with him and his dogs. He was going to, as he always does, allow his dogs to ferret out pheasants in the fields and shrub brush that grow along the banks of the river. I.. to my own surprise... said "Ok."

Chaucer and his yellow lab, the male, didn't get along very well at first. Chauc isn't aggressive in the least, but he is really playful and sometimes other dogs, especially older dogs, don't take to that very well. They growled and played the whole "whose dominant" thing for a while, but the eventually calmed down and ran around together. The black lab (female) was friendlier until Chauc tried to get "too" friendly and she let him know that she wasn't interested, in no uncertain terms.

Dennis'  dogs are hunting dogs. They have been trained since they were 5 months old. It is pretty cool to see them do their thing. Dennis would point in a direction and both dogs would go off... about twenty feet away, and do these figure eights. They would then slowly trace their way back to him and that was that. A couple times they caught scent of a bird, signified by them wagging their tales in this spiral pattern. (the faster they spun their tales the stronger the scent). They never spooked up any birds, I guess a rarity in his experience, but it was great to see them do what they were born to do.

Labs really are born birding dogs. Their bodies come equipped for it. A lab's fur is hollow (to keep them warm after getting wet in the pursuit of ducks). Their feet are webbed. Their actions are instinctively aimed at retrieving game. I have seen it in Chaucer, even though he has never been trained for hunting in the slightest. If I throw a stick, he will fetch it and not bring it directly back to me. 9 out of 10 times he will run past me and then circle back to me and give me the stick. I have even seen him shake it out before handing it to me. This is all in an effort to bleed the thing out a bit before giving his game over to me. He just does it... programmed in.

When I was ready to go, Dennis handed me his card and asked me if I wanted to train Chaucer to be a bird dog. Chaucer is a very big lab... not one of those petite, long-nosed ones. He has a huge head and is very muscular. Dennis kept on commenting on what great shape he is in, and I have to admit, Chaucer has these back legs that have visibly huge muscles in them... probably a combination of genetics and the fact that I hike him out so often. I was kind of taken aback at his invitation. I wasn't expecting it. Dennis told me that when a dog trains with dogs that are already well trained, the training goes really fast. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to a private reserve in Connecticut that he and his friends go to in the off season. (Visions of "the Most Dangerous Game" flashed through my head)  I am not a hunter. Really... I don't have a lot of desire to shoot things and eat them. I am an outdoors kind of guy... just not really a gun kind of guy. But something in me wants to go. I just want to see Chaucer in his element. I don't know. It just seems so republican. "I am going out bird hunting with the guys today my wife. Maybe we can talk about money over a fire when I come home and I can smoke cigars and wear a tie." I don't know... it's just not me.

Still though, I still have his card... maybe. We walked through the brush on these barely visible paths, Chaucer followed his dogs and I could tell he was loving it. We walked for about an hour and finally decided to give up the hunt. No pheasants had scared up and apparently we were at the end of his route. Chaucer was acting satisfied and had no problem walking with me away from the other two dogs. As we were taking our last turn back toward my car, at a place where I normally throw sticks into the river for Chaucer to retrieve, a huge explosion of whooshing pops scared me senseless as a pheasant flew out of the pine trees just ahead of me.... Chaucer remained unimpressed.

db