It has been a few years since the boys have been to DC, and in those years they have studied a little bit of history. and a tad about our government; so we decided to take a break from the tropics and head to the nation's capital for spring break. Although we were there for a brief time, they boys took in a great deal; they went to the Lincoln, Vietnam and WWII memorials. They marched to the Natural History Museum, National Gallery, Air and Space Museum and Spy Museum. The saw pandas, panhandlers and political speakers of the mentally addled variety as they rode the metro from here to there. We even found time to catch a movie and enjoy gluten free pizza. It was enough to make the heartiest souls feel weary, and certainly made my body feel its age.
There was one final destination we made time for, one that focused on the boys personal heritage as opposed to the nations, one that reminded us of our youth more than our age; 6 days shy of 20 years we took the boys to the Georgetown Guest House, the place where we first met on April 3rd 1989.
RAP (3.31.2009)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Echoes
When I worked late at the grocery store in high school, often I would buy a bag or two of candy before walking home. The next day I took it school with me and I'd toss Skittles, Starbursts, Peppermint Patties and the like around in my Honors English class when Mr. Rogers had his back turned; as soon as his back turned, hands all across the room would go up, candy would zoom across the air, and generally we all had a good time. Mr. Rogers was in on it, and occasionally a Reese's peanut butter cup headed in his direction.
I believe that little celebrations in life are important and as such I like to make Fridays a bit more special for the boys, so I often sneak a surprise into their lunches for that day. During Lent it has been Easter Candy, mini-Cadbury eggs in particular. I also add the a bit of wisdom each time: "It's nice to share." I see it a bit as a candy dish, and it never hurts to have a candy dish at your desk. Well, it has grown and now Fridays are special for more than just our boys. It has turned out to make Fridays special for me once more as I hear Michael, in particular, tell me that he shoots them around the table, harkening back to a time that doesn't seem so long ago.
RAP (3.18.2009)
I believe that little celebrations in life are important and as such I like to make Fridays a bit more special for the boys, so I often sneak a surprise into their lunches for that day. During Lent it has been Easter Candy, mini-Cadbury eggs in particular. I also add the a bit of wisdom each time: "It's nice to share." I see it a bit as a candy dish, and it never hurts to have a candy dish at your desk. Well, it has grown and now Fridays are special for more than just our boys. It has turned out to make Fridays special for me once more as I hear Michael, in particular, tell me that he shoots them around the table, harkening back to a time that doesn't seem so long ago.
RAP (3.18.2009)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
There Is Nothing To See Here
The boys report cards arrived yesterday, and it was as you would expect, nearly perfect in both cases. As such, it did not tell me much about them, but their is an academic activity lately that has done a fine job at illustrating facets about the boys.
As a way to promote their overall growth I've decided to have the boys commit to memory a few things. in exchange for a trip to the candy store. In this first iteration, Alex chose Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle" and Michael chose Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." This was what you would expect: Alex chose something passionate, whereas Michael displayed his affinity for Mr. Lincoln. Alex has been very diligent and is essentially done, but Michael is taking longer (as part of the dynamic, they are only rewarded when both complete their task); this is interesting in that Michael has a fantastic memory, but Alex has out worked him. Michael works very hard on his passions, but not as much on other tasks, whereas Alex can be directed. It is something that we need to continue to work on with him.
The most intriguing thing about this exercise has been to see that Michael has a natural cadence, and reads and recites his piece with rhythm, but Alex does not. "Rage, rage" erupted from his mouth, running together with the words like an explosion and in the process lost all of its poetry. This was something that I did not expect, but we have used recent days to teach him where to place emphasis, which has been a nice bonus of this task, and I believe is a skill that might serve him well.
RAPatton (3.11.2009)
As a way to promote their overall growth I've decided to have the boys commit to memory a few things. in exchange for a trip to the candy store. In this first iteration, Alex chose Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle" and Michael chose Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." This was what you would expect: Alex chose something passionate, whereas Michael displayed his affinity for Mr. Lincoln. Alex has been very diligent and is essentially done, but Michael is taking longer (as part of the dynamic, they are only rewarded when both complete their task); this is interesting in that Michael has a fantastic memory, but Alex has out worked him. Michael works very hard on his passions, but not as much on other tasks, whereas Alex can be directed. It is something that we need to continue to work on with him.
The most intriguing thing about this exercise has been to see that Michael has a natural cadence, and reads and recites his piece with rhythm, but Alex does not. "Rage, rage" erupted from his mouth, running together with the words like an explosion and in the process lost all of its poetry. This was something that I did not expect, but we have used recent days to teach him where to place emphasis, which has been a nice bonus of this task, and I believe is a skill that might serve him well.
RAPatton (3.11.2009)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Guitar Heroes
I like to expose the boys to a wide variety of experiences, as a way to help them understand their world; they help make you who you are, and be able to see the depth behind things that seem simple. Late Sunday afternoon I was able to finagle some passes for the sound check of Airborne Toxic Event, who were playing a sold out show that night. I thought this would be something interesting for the boys to see; after all, how often will the boys be able to hang out with rock stars?
The boys have never been to an indoor concert and were very pleased from the get go when they noticed that were playing Cartoon Network up at the bar; Michael proclaimed, "You're right, this is a cool place!" We ended up talking the violist, drummer and lead singer. The lead singer in particular talked to the boys about sports, doodling, school and guitars. Later, he pulled Alex up on stage during the sound check and tutored him on guitar, letting him work the floor pedals and offering sage advice like "the great thing about punk rock is you don't have to be in tune." But it wasn't all rocking out; in the 2 and half hours we were there, the boys watched them setup their equipment, tune it, set their marks and a variety of other things that they may not have realized were involved in being a guitar hero.
RAPatton (3.3.2009)
The boys have never been to an indoor concert and were very pleased from the get go when they noticed that were playing Cartoon Network up at the bar; Michael proclaimed, "You're right, this is a cool place!" We ended up talking the violist, drummer and lead singer. The lead singer in particular talked to the boys about sports, doodling, school and guitars. Later, he pulled Alex up on stage during the sound check and tutored him on guitar, letting him work the floor pedals and offering sage advice like "the great thing about punk rock is you don't have to be in tune." But it wasn't all rocking out; in the 2 and half hours we were there, the boys watched them setup their equipment, tune it, set their marks and a variety of other things that they may not have realized were involved in being a guitar hero.
RAPatton (3.3.2009)
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