Skate Monkeys

Holy Krakatoa! Me & the Boys discovered Thrasher Park in San Leandro yesterday! It rocks! My kids are doing "ollie's", "grinding", & jumping with the big boys at the skateboard park! Littlest Dude, Kip, is seriously gifted in the skate department. No fear. Finally, something sports oriented that he has the upper hand in with his older brother. We've easilly spent 8 hours there in the past 2 days! So much fun.

The skateboard culture is primarily male. And I have to say, it's the most physical, nurturing, supportive masculine sports environment I've ever witnessed. These guys really know how to show compassion to each other! And the big guys (17-23) watch out & support the little guys (8-12). I was fascinated. No fights, no hard feelings. Just sharing of space & techniques, respectful body language and tutoring, with a strong comraderie of what it is to be male. Every color, shape, size, skill level, & social class became moot. Truly diverse.

I will be faithfully supporting my kids to hang out at skate parks.(And so will I, with them...those older skate monkeys are really easy on the eyes!!!!)

Should Summer Stay or Should It Go Now...

I am so ambivent!!!!! I LOVE not having a schedule; waking up when we want to, going where ever we want, when we want, NO HOMEWORK, staying up late, playdates & sleepovers any day of the week, SpongeBob... And yet, I can't wait for my guys to go back to school so I don't have to deal with finding playdates to keep them active & stimulated, have a sense of routine and organization, interaction with other adults (them & me!), PERSONAL SPACE, time to find my mind (I think it's with my keys & several mis-matched socks), the ability to finish a project without having to stop and make Mac N Cheese or wipe a butt. Ya know, If we went to a year round schedule, life would be so much more balanced. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I needed the kids for Summer help in tending to our fields. 6-8 weeks on & 2-3 weeks off would be so much more civilized. I am here to testify that my kids lose a huge portion of what they've struggled to learn all year by having too much time elapse during Summer Break. They need more consistent learning phases and breaks in-between to stave off the burn-out. With Year Round School we wouldn't need homework. Homework is killing our evening family time. S-T-R-E-S-S-F-U-L. Our kids and our families need a break. Let's get organized, protest & change this for the better of our families & communities!

Is modern living all that it's cracked up to be?

I say, NO! Life is harder, more isolating, and more focused on monetary gains than ever before. We spend a ridiculous amount of time at work, commuting, dealing with paperwork, running endless errands, scheduling appointments & events on cell phones & email and watching TV to chill out. Family values sounds like a cynical joke. More people are depressed, anxious, and taking prescription meds to feel something or to numb out. Are we (Americans/Westernized societies) becoming a larger, more global version of the .com disaster? Are we going to just burn ourselves out? The old perfume ad directed towards the newly liberated women of the 70's touted "we can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, & never, never let you forget your a man" now sees us in the year 2007 having both men & women trying to bring home the bacon, raise a family, someone try to order in dinner or nuke the prepackage organic food pouch, and stay awake long enough to recognize the person on the other side of the bed! Revolt, I say! Take back our families! Let's find a way to raise our own children instead of having to hire someone else! Take back our basic ideals! Downsize all of our unrealistic BS cultural financial expectations of being a rock star, Wall Street wizard, pro-wrestling, PTA President, cupcake wielding, spiritually ambiguous family of 4 with a dog, 3 cats, & 8 fish. Relax... Bring back local community; Block parties, local shop owners, environmentally & socially conscientious brand loyalty. I say we're worth it. Now...How do we do this?