GRIZZLY PEAR
Staying at the in-laws,
Digging into the closet,
She finds momma’s old shoes.
Shiny taupe flats with half inch heels,
Clomp, clomp, clomp!
Marching on the tile.
Her feet are still small,
But the ankles fill the throats;
Last year’s gap is gone.
䷑䷝
cross great water
before three days
after three days
twin flames
你再下来就没有snacks!
(Come down (from the table) again, then no snacks!)
Poo-poo!
(he just came back from trying to poop, unsuccessfully)
真的? 这次没有大便也没有snacks!
(Really? If you don’t poo this time, then no snacks!)
Oh! 我说了 acc-i-dent-a-ly.
(Oh! I said it accidentally.)
One minus One is Zero!
One minus One is Zero!
One minus One is Zero!
He’s been watching Numberblocks
The next day, he exclaimed
One minus Two is Zero!
Momma sat him down to explain negative numbers.
He spent dinner enthralled in this new realm of arithmetic.
Three minus Five is Negative Two!
One minus a Hundred is Negative Ninety-Nine!
His sister chimed in
Negative Two minus Negative Five is Three!
The girl was an awful sleeper as a baby.
This lullaby emerged over hours of trying to walk her to sleep.
小宝宝去睡觉
(little precious, go to sleep)
It never worked.
Not for her.
Not for him.
It just riles them up.
So I sing it at every opportunity.
Last year, I transcribed it into Flat.io so you can now hear it as a round, because I doubt I’ll ever convince anyone in the family to sing along with me.
We walked by a Chevrolet.
He pointed at the golden skewed cross.
医生车! (doctor car!)
He said our Odyssey is a 女的车 (girl car).
Headlights with long curved eyelashes,
Like his sister’s cartoons.
䷆䷜
chase the pheasant
grab the illusion
…and my first meeting is on Microsoft Teams, even though the three of us are within fifty feet of each other.
(screen sharing > face to face!)
Sure is nice chatting in person after almost three years apart. I’m very blessed to enjoy the company of my colleagues.
At the end of the day, I realized that I’ve forgotten where the light switches are scattered around the building.
The delighted squeals of the kids when I came back home was a nice bonus.
Solutioning.
This meeting is only for updates, we will address solutioning at future meetings.
Chasing her brother,
she slipped on the tile,
and chipped her tooth.
She came home with a tiny unicorn eraser.
The boy asked about the “vet”.
He threatened to brush his teeth —
Badly!
He wants to visit the dentist.
䷥䷁
honest
non-action
hidden effort
no end
She enjoyed the trailer and this is one of her favorites from the Roald Dahl book set. We gave it a whirl on New Year’s Eve.
The girl closed 2022 by learning the hard truth that adaptations distort beloved stories. She expressed her dismay throughout the viewing. Expecting fidelity is a surefire path to disappointment.
I hadn’t read the book, so I thought it was fine. It was a welcome respite from the current Pixar aesthetic. The story and characters had a delightful edge (which Disney studiously avoids). I haven’t watched Wes Anderson before, but I now grok his reputation. I’d watch him again.
After the kids went to bed, I read the book. It’s a fun, quiet story. I get why my daughter felt let down.
We discussed it further on New Year’s Day —
The director added all that stuff to fill a 90 minute movie.
But why did he make these changes?
Those are plot devices to manufacture tension.
Were they necessary? The book was better.
I agree, but the mass market demands more excitement in their movies.
As a father, it hurts to feel her sense of betrayal. Then again, she’s embarking upon lifetime of disappointing movie adaptations.
Best that we got the initial shock out of the way, last year.
䷲䷚
last night
she reread
still prefers
the source
Kids are off to bed and I’m enjoying a quiet pre-midnight indulgence.
Not sure I’ll make it to the big 0:00.
Here’s to next year!
Mamma called out bedtime.
He rushed into our bedroom to say goodnight.
He picked up the bright red foam roller,
Tipped it onto one end,
Stood on his tippy toes,
Rested his forehead top of the new column.
And circumambulated around this monument a few times.
He sauntered out to play with his sister.
䷂
avoid forest deep
prince and princess
stone pillar at home
䷦
