Thank you, Asia "Reflection on a reflection" (39 days until Wisconsin)

2012

"My kids are entering a pool at Laguna de Boracay, our resort for our Spring Break. We're in the Philippines for a second time in two years. The kids are pretending to be dolphins. They are playing well together - for the moment. They're just like any other kids, right?

"That depends on how you look at it. Many of their classmates from Green Bay will spend all of their growing up years in one community, or one state, or at least one country. They'll grow up seeing tons of American TV and commercials and magazines, be exposed to a culture that tells them to see the world and themselves in a certain way. Friday night football will be important. And cheeseburgers. And Packers. Body image. A "good job". Money. A big screen tv.

"At this point my kids at 8 and 10 have traveled to 3 countries and lived in 2 others (or 3 depending on which kids we're talking about). They're beginning to think that rice is preferable to mashed potatoes. That black hair and dark eyes is just as common as blond hair and blue eyes. And that riding a subway and living on the 15th floor is just fine. They go to a school with students who come and go, with friends who come and go, in a country that is and isn't theirs. They're learning that education is valued differently by their classmates here than in GB."

2021

My kids live in two different countries. Adam is back in Green Bay, almost a year now of "adulting 101" under his belt. Alec is here in Hong Kong, a junior in high school with just one year remaining - a year he will complete back in Green Bay. They are just like any other kids, right?

That depends on how you look at it. Their classmates over the last decade hailed from all over the world. They shared in common the English language and an "American Style education." They share with their friends a sort of displacement (where is home, really?). Their schoolmates' families valued education and pushed for college after high school. They heard many different languages, sometimes daily. They ate different foods. Learned about world events - sometimes because they had "been there". They understand apartment living (floor 15, then 23, then 7).

At this point my kids at 19 and 17 have lived in 3 (or 4) different countries and have travelled to 15 countries. They definitely prefer rice over potatoes. To them black hair and brown eyes are common and blond hair and blue eyes are uncommon. They are far more comfortable on a subway or in a taxi than with the thought of learning to drive (neither drives yet). They have attended schools with friends that come and go (more going than coming). They have lived in countries that felt like home more than their home country. In many ways, my kids are now more Eastern than Western in their worldview.

Thank you, Asia. What opportunities my kids have had.

Kid stories OR Cookies and the bathtub

As always, having kids can mean heartwarming moments and hair pulling moments.  I've got one of each to share.

First, the heartwarming one.

My fifth grader and I made sugar cookies recently.  He enjoys baking sometimes and was thrilled when there were enough cookies to share with his classmate.  "Mom, can I take cookies to school for my classmates?"  Me: Sure.  Just check with your teacher.  Him: I know!  I could pack little cookie snacks for our class walk-about in two days.  Me: Perfect!  My son proceeded to package ziplock bags of three cookies each and each labeled with the student group names for the walk-about.  He did this all on his own without any help from me.  He put all the bags into his backpack for the next day.  I was so proud of him.

Upon returning from school the next day I inquired about how his classmates enjoyed the cookies.  With just a hint of a downcast face he said, "I never gave them to them."  "Why?"  "Because they all got crushed in my backpack."  And with that, he took out the Ziplocks.  Oh!  Such a sad, sad sight, all those crumbs.  I felt so bad!  He was so thoughtful and giving and spent time and care preparing the snack packs, all to no avail.  But he didn't seem too phased, he shrugged, sat down on the couch and logged onto his computer to play a game.

I was very proud of my thoughtful, independent, kind son that day.

Second, the hair-pulling one.

So, my daughter decided that her passion project for school would be to create an auquaponics system similar to one her science class had made last year.  Over the course of several weeks we collected all the needed components like a plastic bin, gold fish, clay beads, net pots, styrofoam slab and plants. The day came for her assemble it all.  I happened to step out when she decided to move forward with the potting the plants phases.  This happened to involve removing the plants from soil pots to replant them in the clay beads. Sounds easy enough and logical enough, but to a thirteen year old brain. . . Not so much.  Her logic told her to loosen the roots from the soil by soaking them in water. . . In the bathtub!

I arrived home to a tornadic disaster in her bathroom which involved a gazillion little styrofoam beads and potting soil over everything.  But the best moment was when I pulled back the shower curtain (mom, we have a little problem).  The bathtub was full of black water deep enough for a luxurious mud bath.  That was the point where she handed me the drain stopper with, "For some reason it's not draining."

(Deep breath.  Count to ten.) 

What are you thinking, Mom?  Say something.

These are going to be the most expensive green peppers I have ever eaten.   Okay,  let's get a pail and you can start bailing over the balcony.

And that's what she did.

Two hours, sixty trips to the balcony,and a gallon of liquid plumber later the bathroom was good as new.

Repotting 101:  don't soak roots in the bathtub to remove soil.