Friday, March 24, 2023

7 Quick Takes about Water Leaks That May Have Been Inspired, Motherly Pride, and a Moment of Appreciation for the Sky

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It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

1


A few years ago, a local girl scout troop started a soccer equipment swap and then wanted to turn it over to the community. Having had 6 kids go through the town soccer program and being passionate about kids' hand-me-downs, I figured this a made-for-me volunteer opportunity if there ever was one and I said I'd do it.

I believe it's a good thing, it's just a lot of work at a busy time of year. So I was sort of dreading it as I emailed the president of our local soccer club to ask about the start date of the season so I can begin planning.

Imagine my surprise when he emailed me back explaining that unfortunately, a massive water leak in the shed where we keep the equipment for the swap ruined everything, so we won't be able to hold the event this season.

I know that legally, a burst pipe isn't considered an act of God... but in this case it sure felt like it.

2


My 16-year-old daughter is getting ready for her solo violin recital at the end of April. It will be about an hour of music, including her first full concerto performed all at once. And in her words, it will probably be the fanciest event she's ever been to.

This week we delivered music to our accompanist, took her dress to get alterations done (we recently inherited a gorgeous prom dress from a family friend,) and designed invitations for the recital that I was particularly proud of. 

I'm getting really excited about this recital. I'm trying not to go into full proud mom mode here, but I can't wait to showcase my beautiful, talented baby so everyone can appreciate her (almost) as much as I do.


I'm trying not to, but I think I'm failing.

3


How was your St. Patrick's Day? In the past I've made a green breakfast for my kids, but I couldn't get it together to pull off such a thing in time for school (we're still struggling after Daylight Savings, to be honest) so we had it for an after-school snack instead.

I made shamrock-shaped pancakes topped with green whipped cream, and they drank milk colored green with food coloring.

I envisioned it being a really fun thing but like many things you envision differently in parenting, it was actually a lot of mess and work for not very much excitement from the kids. And then my son got in trouble for knocking over the milk by bouncing a ball in the dining room after I'd told him to put it away about 8 times. 

Not the whimsical afternoon of magic I'd anticipated.

4


The older I get, the more I appreciate the sky. I am constantly pointing out pretty sunsets and cool cloud formations to my kids, who usually couldn't care less. I think it's my version of how old people suddenly get really interested in birds (language warning on this very funny/accurate post). 

But anyway, I digress. 

Look at the sky outside my 11-year-old's indoor soccer arena when she went to play her game this week:




It's hard to get a picture of the sky, because the sky is pretty big, but it was pretty amazing. The spotty pattern of the clouds and the way they were arranged in waves made the sky look like the ripples at the bottom of the lake near the shore. Or, now that I look at the pictures, like the inside of a Sherpa-lined hoodie.

5


This week I set the settings on my phone to Spanish. It doesn't translate English websites or anything I've previously typed in English, but now all the little buttons and widgets are in Spanish and I think it's going to make a big difference in how automatic my vocabulary becomes. 

Right now there's a huge disconnect between how well I can read (decent-ish) and how well I can speak (badly) and it's because I've learned a lot but I still haven't internalized it through repetition.

I also set my GPS to Spanish. I haven't used it yet so we'll see if I get hopelessly lost. I anticipate problems because 'right' is derecha and 'straight' is derecho, but we'll just cross our fingers and hope I don't end up stranded in a field somewhere.

6


I read about an interesting survey from the Pew Research Center about religious attitudes in the U.S. People were asked how positively/negatively they felt in general about 7 different religious groups: Catholics, mainline Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, Latter-day Saints, Jews, Muslims, and atheists. 

40% of people didn't hold negative views toward any groups, but those who did apparently weren't impressed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which I belong to. 


But actually, I didn't think that was the interesting part. I thought the really interesting part was how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had an overall favorable opinion of every other religious group, and in most cases their attitudes were overwhelmingly more favorable than anyone else's attitudes in the survey.

That's right, we love you guys.

To me, it confirms that one of the core beliefs of our religion is still alive and well: look for the good in everyone and everything, and recognize truth everywhere (because it is everywhere.) 

It's an interesting paradox that while we believe our church is the only place on earth where you can find God's entire revealed truth, we also recognize and appreciate every belief system in the world for the truths it contains.

7


My 14-year-old is watching a documentary in school called The Social Dilemma. I know about this because it's rated PG-13 so I had to give my permission for him to see it.

After going to watch the trailer, I wanted to see it too but I don't have Netflix. I'm actually not sure how they're showing this to entire classrooms because of copyright, but I'm going to stop talking about that so I don't get anyone in trouble.

My son reports that the documentary is a little over-the-top with the drama, but it makes some really good points. 

I've been reading a little bit of a book called How to Break Up with Your Phone that's been saying some of the same things: every minute you spend on social media and the Internet in general is a minute you're allowing someone else to make money off of you by literally selling your attention. Are you sure you want to spend your free time making money for someone else? 

So with that, go outside today. Enjoy spring. And have a great day!

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Your cute little otter, "I made this" has an extra layer in it. Yes she is your daughter. But I also witnessed a significant investment on your part in her developing that talent. Practicing with her in the beginning years. Listening to her with feedback for many years after that. And of course all the usual mom stuff of financial support and getting her to lessons. You are right to feel such proud feelings!