The Daddy

I once read in a magazine article about Bill Gates and his passion for board games.  As I remember from the piece, Bill grew up in a home that relished the spirit of competition.  The play was serious and winning was important. Bill continued his love of mentally challenging games with Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer, buddies from high school and college.   The article said Gates  was especially fond of the game of  Risk.

I remember reading this article and thinking how Bill Gates and his family and friends seemed so different from me.  I don't like games. I didn't grow up with games. I didn't have friends who like games. Then I met David.

To say the least, David didn't marry me because I share his interest in board games. Apparently no one else in David's family liked playing games with him either.  I guess they got tired of always losing to David too.

Fortunately, David's interest in solving problems and puzzles has led to his academic research in the area of  randomness and computation.  Here is an essay David wrote for a general audience called, "Can Random Coin Flips Speed Up a Computer?"

Recently, David showed Emma this new game, RoboZZle.  This blog discusses RoboZZle, a robot programming game that demonstrates the essential elements of algorithms used to solve complex problems. Emma seems to like playing this game almost as much as watching episodes of Electric Company.

After receiving my "Most Important Thing About Mom" book last May, Emma and I thought that it would be only fair for Emma to create a similar tribute for the "The Daddy Pataddy" (as we like like to call him).  Emma wrote this lovely poem for her daddy which she gave to David on Father's Day.

It seems as if Emma gave her daddy the ultimate Father's Day gift, the gift that he always wanted but could never get from his family: an always-eager game partner.

Here is David's game of Risk. Note the heavy wear and tear on the box.

Cookies and Cuddles

This drawing is how Emma thought I looked last Spring when my hair was still very short.  (According to Emma, I seem to have some facial hair.  Perhaps just some artistic rendering on Emma's part.)

This drawing and Emma's essay titled "Mom" are part of a collection of essays and drawings made by Emma's first grade classmates last spring.  All of the drawing and pictures about their mothers were bound in a book called The Important Thing About my Mom. The children gave the book to their mothers as a Mother's Day present.

It is funny and interesting to read what each child wrote as the most important thing about mom.  This collection of essays could almost be a little study into the perceptions 6 year old children toward their mothers.  Here are some informal observations on my part.

1.  Almost all of the children wrote that the making of food, especially desserts and breads, was the most important thing about mom. If mom didn't fix these treats, then mom took the child to a bakery or restaurant to get these yummy foods.  The list of wonderful things that the children say we make or buy for our kids is mouth watering: strawberry bread, banana bread, fudge cookies, banana splits, fancy desserts, smoothies, Krispy Cream donuts, sugar cookies, chocolate shakes at McDonald's, cookies at Russell's Bakery.

Emma wrote that she makes cookies with me.  The reality is that we rarely make cookies.  While I do think food (especially sweet, warm things) and mom are often linked, I suspect that the teacher might have used cooking/baking as an example and all the children used food as one of the important things about mom.   Alternatively, perhaps some children talked about what they were writing in their essays and others copied (as 6 years tend to do). This might explain why 5 of of the 20 children said the most important thing was that mom "made breakfast for dinner."  

2. The other important area about mothers was the love. Many children wrote "she takes care of me" or "she loves me." Emma and many others wrote, "she cuddles with me."  Only Emma wrote that her mom  carries her around and says "flying monkey."   Actually I say flying monkey with an odd exaggerated accent "flying mooonkey."  When Emma was a little baby and even a toddler, I would hold her out with my extended arms so she looked like she was flying in the air. Emma would hold her arms out like an airplane and  squeal in delight as I swished her around the house. My arms are not strong enough to hold her like that now.  But I do still love to cuddle. We always have "cuddle time," usually when she comes home from school.

3.  Some children mentioned their mom's profession (teacher, architect, writer, lawyer, etc.). Two children said the most important thing about mom was that she was a marathon runner (an accomplishment indeed).

Beyond Emma's essay, my favorite essay was the one written by a child who said the most important thing about mom was that "she had style." The child explained, "She has nice shiny make-up. She has curly hair." 

Here is Emma's essay titled "Mom." 

Emma's Just and Sustainable World

More catch up...

During last year's election, I was very impressed with the level of political of awareness of first graders. Emma talked about the election and knew the candidates. In May, at the end of the school year, Emma came home with a backpack full of journals and artwork that she had completed throughout the year. In those school papers, I came across some of her journal entires and drawings, many of them about politics and the world around her. Here is a sampling of her work.




The line about making sure no one gets sick is touching and telling.

Hello Again

Hello. It's me. Even though my posts have become infrequent, my real time life continues to move along nicely. Emma is in 2nd grade. We are in the middle of landscaping our front and back lawns. I am teaching at Texas State and and working on some research projects. David and I are taking West Coast Swing classes again on Wednesday nights and loving it. Last week I learned a few new ways to do an anchor step.

My chemo treatments that I endured now almost two years ago just keep on giving. I found out this week that all of my cavities that keep popping up are the result of the chemo. Weakened tooth enamel: another small price to pay for remission. Ever the pragmatist, David always says "think of the alternative" when things like this come up regarding my post-chemo side effects.

Let me do some catch up. Here's some of Emma's artwork from 1st grade. I like the color and composition of these pieces.