I promised last weekend i was gonna take Matthew to see the dinosaurs, and I made good on my promise this weekend -- i mean, come on, who doesn't like dinosaurs?
I was talking to a friend Lance the other day, and somehow, we got to the subject of children and cribs and when they don't need their cribs anymore.
I told him, that while Matthew hadn't reached that stage, I know how it's supposed to go down: someday in the next year, Matthew will just wake up one day and crawl out of his crib, and crash onto the floor -- simultaneously breaking the crib barrier and learning about the effects of gravity. Or so I'm told anyhow. Actually, the person that told me this, Suzanne, also told me that is a ritual of sorts for children -- I guess every child needs to go through this process.
Lance was surprised to hear this scenario, and I admit that on the surface it all seems strange. I have to let my child physically hurt himself to mark a new crib-less future. However, after thinking about it some more, it all makes perfect sense -- and not just for children and their crib-to-bed transition, but for adults and their lives.
The crib is a physical barrier, and it's there to ensure the safety of a child while he cannot make decisions of safety on his own, or cannot undertake the communication required to learn safety in this situation. However, most children fall out of their cribs way after they are physically able to crawl out physically. Take Matthew, for example: he's 20 months, a big strong tall-for-his-age child that could easily crawl out of his crib if he wanted, but he hasn't yet -- hasn't even tried. So, at this point, it's not the physical barrier stopping him from progressing to the next stage - he just has yet to realize the barrier to his progression is in his mind. Either he isn't ready to accept undertaking a new stage, or he just simply doesn't realize he's fully able to do it.
I think that same scenario holds true for many stages of life as we get older and older. When we acquiesce to defeat "I can't do it" what is stopping us? Most of the time we blame the physical limitations on ourselves and our situations. But are they really there? Or is it the case of the child's fall from grace, that we simply don't realize we have the power to overcome the limitations of the physical barriers, that it's just a barrier of the mind.
Chef Celia is my mom. So, if you are from the PGMA (Phoenix Greater Metropolitan Area) or the surrounding southwestern USA, and if you are familiar with Bashas' supermarkets, well, yeah -- that's her.
Anyways, i helped her submit an entry to the Food Network's whatever-their-reality-tv-show-is-called. It's a 3 minute video with Chef Celia rippin' it up in the kitchen. Chef Celia's superstardom is only clouded by a brief cameo appearance of Laura Alzubi from the equally famous I Do Bliss Invitations. Enjoy.
My son Matthew and my grandfather Alberto are hilarious. Neither speaks English, and I think it's safe to say they are culturally incompatible and have generational gaps to spare. However, I think it's also apparent they speak the same language and love one another.
Who would have thought spinning a rubber ducky would be so much fun? I guess these 2 old guys. Enjoy the video.
Assembly consisted of a paper and hot-glue shroud, again, hot-glued to a support structure of fishing line attached to a steel-wire circular base. The lighting and electrical was just zip-tied to the wooden support and base.
The idea, of course, is to make a new design for the holiday tree each year. Well see how it goes in 2007. This one will be tough to beat.