Glory

I'm a little tipsy after having spent a lovely evening with my wife.

But this warrants a posting.

Glory, man, seriously.

Not only is Johan never going back to Kindercare but instead will spend Mondays with his dear Red Wine Grandma, but my dissatisfaction has caused a friend from law school to re-think sending her little baby girl to that wretched place.

One song, glory.

If I was a "good" person, I would be happy just knowing that Johan isn't going back. And, I am. But I have to say that I also feel a sense of satisfaction that they are losing another potential client/student over this, and it gives me some fodder for my strongly worded letter yet to be penned.

Glory, man. One song, glory. One last refrain: I totally love winning.

The Latest in Johan

1) Eduardo has vetoed finding a caregiver for our son on craiglist. Fine. We have a couple of leads with people we sort of know (like sisters of friends, etc.) How this will play out remains to be seen.

2) Johan is now almost a master of independent sitting and is working on scooting. Our hardwood floors are conducive to moving quickly with just a few pushes of the hands, and he's getting good. He can only go backwards though. My dad asked if that means he's going to vote for Hillary. Damn. That's harsh, Dad.

3) Johan doesn't like to sleep on Wednesday nights. I've started keeping track and for the past 4 weeks, he wakes up in the middle of the night only on Wednesdays and wants to play. Little weirdo.

4) Tomorrow is Johan's 1st flight. Wheeeeeeee!

Overreacting?

I'm looking for some feedback here because, when it comes to Johan, I think I don't have a lot of objectivity. Here's the situation: yesterday my mom picked Johan up from his daycare center where he goes 3-4 times per month. I don't want to defame it but it rhymes with Linderlare. When she arrived, Johan was swaddled in a blanket laying in a crib, wide awake. These are the problems: It is common knowledge among parents and anyone involved with babies that swaddling is not recommended past a month or 6 weeks old. Johan needs to have his arms and legs free to move. He doesn't even like being dressed in clothes, let alone bound up in a blanket. Also, I pay a lot of money for him to go there, under the auspices that he is being cared for, not left in a crib while awake.

What had got me even angrier is the director's response when I called to discuss my concerns. I remained level headed, using an indoor voice, and other that mentioning that it sounded "a little Romanian orphanage," I totally kept my cool. Yet, instead of trying to actually address my concerns, the director was full of excuses: "He wasn't swaddled that tightly;" "The regular head teacher in the baby room wasn't there today;" "He wasn't crying."

Well, jeesh. The tightness of the swaddling is not the effing point. The point is swaddling at all is not appropriate for 6-month-old babies. Regarding the head teacher, shouldn't all of the staff know policies regarding wrapping up babies so that they can't use their arms? Finally, Johan often doesn't cry when he wakes up, but I don't think that makes it okay to just let him lay around in a crib all day.

So, am I overreacting? I understand that daycare providers are paid really shittily, and I am sensitive to the problem of the parent-that-bitches-about-everything since I worked in a Montessori school for many years. Yet, this situation has got me really bothered--both what they did and how they responded to my concerns.

I have reached out on facebook and craiglist to find alternate care for Johan a couple Mondays a month. We're going to California on Friday, so for at least the next 2 weeks, Johan's arms and legs will be to kick, grab, and flail all he wants.

Just in case anyone had doubts about how cute this baby is...

6 months (minus 3 days)

We are still working on posting the picture with Keith Ellison. The delay is related to the fact that the picture is not on my camera. For now, these will have to do:

INFJ

Ok, so I just took a new Myers Briggs test. I am an INFJ -- Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging. I think I have always been FJ, but I was right that I am now an "I."

Breaking it down, I'm very strong I, N, and J, but a weak F. On Myers Briggs, Feeling is juxtaposed with Thinking. So I guess it's ok to be weak on F since it must mean I spend some time thinking, as well.

Myers Briggs

I've taken the Myers Briggs test several times in my life. When I was a kid and a *youth*, I was a strong "E" for extrovert. I was never shy and always loud, so that made sense. I used to think that introverted meant shy and quiet. At some point in my life, someone told me that introverted doesn't really mean shy and quiet. Rather, an introvert is someone who gets their strength and energy from solitude and calm, and an extrovert as someone who is energized by being in groups and with others.

I like those definitions and I think I used to be an extrovert. For several years, though, I have been suspecting that I was morphing into an "I" for introvert. Not shy; not quiet, but someone who needs solitude and quiet to become energized. Today I am sure.

My first Mother's Day was nice but very busy and loud, with several family functions and a lot of running around. By 3:00, I felt totally beat. Like, I could barely keep my eyes open or drag my tired self from the car to the house. But the moment sat down on my couch with a lemonade and a book, I suddenly wasn't tired anymore. The quiet, the solace, and the sun slanting down through the trees and into my living room all gave me energy. I have, therefore, re-classified myself as an introvert.

I bet, however, that if I re-took Myers Briggs, I would still be "judging", rather than "perceiving." Some things never change.

If you...

and your wife decide that she should stay at home to care for your children, that's just great for you.

Your choice.

I will try not to judge.

Honestly.

But don't then come to work and tell the mothers who work in and outside their homes how much your wife has to do and how she can't possibly have a job because she has to "raise the kids."

Kids get raised. Some people do it well. Some people do it less well. But even if their moms have jobs, they get raised. Somehow we find the time to earn a living and give our kids love and attention and kisses.

I'm not saying it's bad to stay home and take care of your kids. But when you work with a bunch of women who spend 40-55 hours a week at the office and then go home to families in need of attention, homes in need of cleaning, laundry in need of washing, food in need of cooking, don't look for a round of applause for all the work your stay-at-home wife does.

I'm just saying.

May Day Parade

Minneapolis has a great May Day parade. It's one of the events that makes me proud to be from this state and today was Johan's first one. The weather was perfect and he actually seemed to pay attention to the different costumes and dancers. He particularly seemed to enjoy the drums.

The highlight for me was when Congressman Keith Ellison (our Congressman, first Muslim Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the subject of my only letter to the editor that has ever been published) came up to us and we had our picture taken with him! His staff photographer took a picture which I am hoping will show up in his quarterly newsletter to his constituents. Ev also took a picture of us with Keith on her camera, which I will post once it is downloaded.

All in all a perfect spring (almost summer?) day.

Also, there were some anarchists on double- and triple-tall bicycles. And some hippies smoking pot and burning sage. It was May Day.

Half a Benny

Today I filled up my gas tank. The empty light was on and it's about a 14 gallon tank.

$50.00. On the nose. That's where the auto-shut-off-thing stopped.

The part of me that loves round, whole dollar numbers so much that I would rather be a few cents ahead on my electric bill by paying, say, $36.00 instead of $35.79 was overshadowed by the part of me that fills with rage at this administration and who starts plotting sit-ins and gas station protests about $3.50 per gallon of gas.

The summer I got my driver's license, gas fluctuated between 85 cents and 99 cents. Are we sure Bill Clinton can't just be President again?

Tip for Coffee Addicts

My coffee addiction continues to become more intense. I think I have found a solution. It acts as a coffee booster. So, for example, with this *product,* my energy levels raise to acceptable levels with only 2 cups of coffee, rather than 4.

It's 80s rock. Think Scorpions, Kansas, Quiet Riot, Guns N Roses. I'm telling you, cranking this shit up in the morning works together with the coffee to get the day started out right.

And, on Live365.com, it's totally free.

Never underestimate the power of 80s rock.