sports day at baby jail

 

 

 

Daddy competing in the Father's race and finishing an impressive second place!  Who knew?

 

So it was Sports Day for the inmates at Baby Jail.  This was probably Charlie's last big event with his fellow inmates before the parole into Big School, so we were sure to attend.  He event competed.  He stood at the starting line with all the other competitors and when they said "GO!" the other kids competed in the Run-To-Mummy event while Charlie competed solo in the Stand-And-Cry event.  Mummy hadn't gotten out of work yet so he cried for Mummy.   But all was well when the time came for cupcakes!

away to boston

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we finally got up the courage to ask Auntie Ardleigh if she would look after the kids for a weekend while Mama and Papa went away to Boston for the weekend and she (foolishly) eagerly agreed!  What a great Auntie!!!

We planned it over a month in advance and decided on our old stomping ground of Boston.  Then, on the Monday before we were to leave, the unthinkable happened:  The Boston Marathon was devastated by two terrorist explosions which terribly injured hundreds and killed three. There are no words for the heartache and awful aftermath of this event and our hearts went out to the Bostonians.  It was difficult to even glimpse the images.

Kids:  Terrible, awful things will happen in this world and I hope to God you are never there when it happens but remember this:  Good people tend to win out and events like these give rise to heroes who never knew they had it in them.  In these, the worst of possible human actions, you will see humanity glow and shine in ways you never thought possible.  You will see strangers leap without thinking to help others they have never met.  You will see kindness that will make your heart bigger and selflessness that you will carry with you as in instruction manual on how we great humans can be when given the opportunity.  Horrible events in your life will shake all the unnecessaries from your world and leave only the truly important stuff standing as a monument to what life is really about.

Our Trip:

So we weren't sure what to do at first.  Do we go?  Do we stay?  Terrorists try to scare you away from your life, to make you live in fear.  We decided that we would not be scared, we would go.  But we would go to Cambridge and not downtown Boston, so we would be away from the main danger area.  The best laid plans...

We arrived Thursday afternoon and pottered around, did some shopping, watched a movie, at some dinner and got in bed.  Late that night, they set up a road block on our street.  We thought nothing of it.  We awoke early (still on kid schedule) at 6am to the news:  They had identified the suspects in the bombings and a massive manhunts was underway to catch them and it was centred in Cambridge and Watertown, MA - less than a mile from where we were.  Boston was locked down, everything was shut, everyone was told to stay inside.   Convoys of police cars screamed past the hotel at intervals and blackhawk helicopters buzzed overheard, every tv station carried the story live and when sirens wailed on the television, they echoed outside our hotel room in concert.  We spent the day in lockdown in the hotel, glued to iPhone news feeds and television sets.  We ventured outside for a quick walk to avoid the cabin fever and it was an eerie, surreal experience.  Downtown Cambridge was silent - devoid of anyone on the street.  Absolutely nobody was on the street save for a few security guards patrolling the entrance to their buildings.   It felt strange, surreal, and ultimately unsafe.  This guy could be anywhere.

By the day's end, he was caught and his brother was down.  Boston celebrated but it was a muted, exhausted cheer.   In the end, the good guys won.  And they usually do, kids.

auntie ardleigh and the ag show

So while Mama and Papa were getting their first weekend away from the family, Auntie Ardleigh bravely took charge of our little cubs. And to top it off, it was Ag Show weekend!  Above are the kids prepped and ready to go (note Charlie's dolphin slippers - a tribute to Auntie Ardleigh who got them for him for Christmas).  For those who don't know, the Ag Show is an annual event that is called something else now but everyone knows it as the Ag Show because it started as an Agricultural Exhibition where fruits, vegetables, and (most importantly) farm animals are on display!  So the kids got to see pigs, cows, horses and other fun things that would make Old MacDonald proud!  Charlie has since established that he would like to return... in fact, every day he reminds us he would like to go to the Ag Show!  Must have had a pretty good time!  Thank you, Auntie Ardleigh!

slow afternoon

The big trees down at Botanical Gardens where we used to play and carve our names in the bamboo.

 

Showin' some leg!

Picking flowers for Mummy.

I believe Schuyler was pretending to be a cat and Charlie was taking advantage of her distracted state and stealing her bike!

wow

 

Our boy likes construction.  I'm not sure what it is.  Part of it is clearly the number of books put out for young boys that feature construction equipment talking and having adventures (Bob The Builder is currently SCHUYLER's favourite show).  But there's something else afoot.  Not sure what it is.  But the boy loves diggers, cranes, steamrollers... anything related really.  Then again, HIS favourite show is Strawberry Shortcake and he has a real thing for golf carts as well, so there's not a monomaniacal interest or anything.  Boys.  Whatcha gonna do?

lunch date

 

So Oscar and Isaac came over for lunch which thrilled Charlie to no end.  As you can see, we were great hosts and stimulated them with armfuls of activities that help kids learn and keep them active (or they watched too much TV... one of those is true).

What do you want to be when you grow up?

So this is more for posterity.  Schuyler, if you ever want to know what you wanted to be when  you grew up (at age 4 and three quarters), your answer was:
"A fairy princess or a surfboarder artist."
Reach for those dreams, kiddo!

good old shelly bay

Casey Jones!

Wait for me, Schuyler!

Dats where de crocodile is.

 

 

 

 

 

I believe this was a kitchen and they were making "food".  At least, that's what I was told.

So this was just after Papa's birthday and he was recovering from a minor procedure and Mama took the kids to Shelly Bay playground so he could rest (thank you!).  

ballet camp

 

 

 

 

 

 

We weren't sure what to expect.  We signed Schuyler up for ballet camp as something different from being entrenched at Somersfield all year long with school and camp.  Plus we hoped she would enjoy it.  Boy, did she ever!  Every day we were regaled with stories of rehearsals, the raw food diet, the yoga (yup!  apparently all that is part of the nouveau ballet!) and the other girls.  Then came the performance.  I was apprehensive.  I've never been a huge fan of expression through dance in a performance.  I just don't really get it.  Something in me doesn't understand it.  I was even more apprehensive about a ballet performance by five year olds.  And, I was a little nervous our cub would cause trouble and I didn't quite believe she would be able to do it.  After all, they only had a week to practice and discipline and concentration are still things we're working on.  But she did it!  The performance was mercifully brief but Schuyler impressed the heck out of us.  She knew all her moves and did the whole thing.  Sure, there were a couple of moments when she kind of forgot she was in a performance but for the most part, she really did it.  The performance itself was something about a garden and Schuyler was a butterfly who came to visit the "flowers" (other dancers) which had bloomed.  She really dug it too!  Especially the part where she got to wear make up (not sure where she gets that!).  Great effort, Schuyler!  You done did us proud!

On turning 40 - this is just a long post for posterity for my kids in case they ever wonder

Kids, your dad is now 40 years old.  And it's ok.  I feel good about it.  I've had a strip of grey hair  in the back of my head near my neck since I was 25, so adding the extra greys doesn't bother me.  And generally I still feel 25 in some ways still.   I'm not sure that will ever go away.   I feel like things are getting better.  It's not that they were bad.  It's just that I feel good about the future.  I feel in some ways like these will be my most productive years.  And science backs me up (although it seems the low point of happiness on average is around 46 years old!).  My twenties were spent (as I feel they should) experimenting with different ideas of what I wanted me and my life to be.  I have led a very lucky and privileged life.  My parents gave me the opportunity to go to university and do a masters.  Not enough people have that opportunity and I will do everything I can to give you that opportunity as well.  I studied in France at French universities.  I did a masters in England at a university that was built shortly after the Battle of Hastings!  I played in a band and was signed (briefly) to a management contract.  I wrote for a newspaper.  I broke through my fears and did stand up comedy.  I did sketch comedy in a reknown comedy troupe and played the Edinburgh festival for a month twice.  Oh, and I finished my masters on time too.  Not sure how that happened.  I toured all around England doing comedy gigs (mostly in tiny terrible clubs).  I sold a sitcom script.  I joined a web company and learned how to do animation and program websites.  I acted in a handful of tv shows.  I moved back to Bermuda with your mum and started a web company and started teaching at the college.  All of these things terrified me.  All of them were things that I never thought I could do.  I thought people who did these things were special - they were magical people who were somehow born different that I was.  I never thought I had it in me.  Until one day I just leapt into the abyss.  I put everything I could into these things.  I worked really hard at them.  It turns out the people who do these things aren't magical (well, some of them are) but they gave themselves a shot and doing them and put in a lot of hard work until they got somewhere.  In comedy, acting, and website design, I didn't have that special something that makes people truly stand out as amazing.  I just didn't have it.  I have friends who have that and they've gone on to do great things.  But just because you won't be the best in the world doesn't mean it isn't worth being the best you can be.
So my twenties were about breaking through my fears and trying things that really scared me and finding a courage I didn't know I had.  I highly recommend it.  But get your darn degrees first so you have that if/when you decided you want to do something else.  The needs you have when you are in your twenties are very different than in your thirties and beyond.  At some point, you may find you want a regular paycheck!  I also made some amazing friendships that are still with me to this day and I work equally hard at keeping those friendships alive and well.  They nourish my soul.
My thirties we about building a foundation for the future.  Your mum and I got married in a just perfect ceremony on a beach with your grandparents and aunts and uncles there.  We couldn't have asked for a better ceremony and reception.  Then, pretty soon afterward, you guys popped into our lives and our future was turned inside out and upside down.  You have made me a better man.  Your Mum started teaching me how to live outside of my head and learn to love better and (although I am a slow learner) I'm even getting a little better at listening to other people and seeing the world from other people's point of view (I'm still working on this because it's important!).  I got a new job and completed some designations which (again) was terrifying but, as I'm sure you're bored of hearing, was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.  Then you guys came.
You guys were evidence of the miraculous.  You came from us.  You opened my world up.  You gave me four more pairs of eyes with which to see the world.  You remind me of what is really important in life because you are still excited by the simplest things and that is glorious to watch.  The glee in Schuyler's face when she finds out we are going to do painting that afternoon, the utter joy Charlie gets just from realising his shorts have pockets - this is how I want to live.  I try to make time for the things that make me happy - playing guitar (badly), writing, doing stand up, talking with my friends, appreciating my family, and just soaking in the sunshine on the waves or smelling pittosporum in the spring (ahhh!).  Keeping yourself happy and interested in life is part of being a good friend, husband, and father.  If you are happy and interested in life, you will take less from other people and have more to give.  Helping others be in situations where they can be happy and interested in life is the calling of this world.   I'll be here for you always.  Hold me to all of the above when I forget it.  If I get selfish or dull or angry, shake me out of it and show me that my shorts have pockets and we're going to do arts and crafts!
I'm happy, you guys.  The events of this time of life tend to keep you parted from your friends for far too long.  That everydayness you had with your friends is harder to maintain but it can be vital.  Find a life that works for you.  Find a life that gives you opportunities to be happy.  It can be anything.  Don't fear fear.  If you aren't a little afraid of the choices that lie ahead, chances are they aren't worth pursuing.  Dare yourself into being more than you thought possible.  Love deeply.  Live a life that makes you interested.  Don't waste your time here.  Dig around in the life around you and find the nuggets that make life wake you up.  I'll be here every step of the way.  No matter what mistakes you make or how many times you trip up, we've got your back.  Always.  Count on it.  We love you and that ain't going away.