Airplanes!!

This weekend was the long anticipated Kaneohe Bay Airshow. We were very disappointed that Bobby couldn't get out of work early and come, me doubly so because it meant managing X on his own. The airshow was a three year old wonderland of rides, airplanes and helicopters to climb into, and planes doing tricks in the sky. Unfortunately, X is not good at standing in lines, and I'm not good at being patient after telling him to wait his turn the 100th time. Nonetheless, he had a blast. So it was worth it.

We got to watch the Blue Angels fly for the fourth time, but first time up close. X has been watching from his daycare every day, I can see from work, and Bobby can see from our condo. I never tire of watching their carefully choreographed, awe inspiring show. Unfortunately, when it was time to sit on the tarmac and watch, X wanted to go into the C-17. Whenever the jets did a flyby, he had to run back out of the plane, and turn around and go back in when they left his line of vision. I got very tired of that, and X had a meltdown. On the plus side, you couldn't hear him scream over the jets.

Every morning, I wake up full of love for my child. By the end of the day, the tank is empty and I'm counting the minutes until bedtime. Such is life with young children, I guess.

Blue Angels from KT on Friday. I never did get a good shot of them up close. On this day, we were buzzed!

Blue Angels from work on Thursday.

Blue Angels from the flight line on Saturday.

A view of our lovely base from the ferris wheel.

Ok...Seal Team 6 is Navy, Semper Fi is Marine Corps. Come on, guys!

On a Chinook helicopter.

Okay...let's go!

Flying a FedEx plane.

A very nice Hawaiian Air pilot showing X how the plane works.

This one is a Coast Guard plane.

Free Family Day at the Honolulu Art Museum

Last Sunday, I had to remove X from the house for several hours so that Bobby could sleep between night shifts. Fortunately for us, it was free family Sunday at the Honolulu Art Museum. While it would have been nice to actually see pieces from the museum instead of darting around after X, it was nice to see him having so much fun. He loved the courtyards. It was Korean Culture Day, and he spent a decent chunk of time watching the Kpop demonstration and, later, a fan dance. It's very unusual for him to sit and watch anything, so I imagine that he was reconnecting with his roots. Later, we took the bus to Spalding House, which is a beautiful estate owned by the museum. We did not see any art or take part in any crafts, but it was worth it to sit on this breathtaking lawn and watch him roll down the hill.

Rapt at the Kpop dancers

Fan dance

Okay, we saw some art.

The pictures do not do this beautiful lawn justice.

Rolling down the hill with "the girls"

Chasing "the girls" through the garden

I'd live here

A Moment Away

Life is going on at a grinding pace. Bobby and I work almost opposite work schedules, so we're together for a few hours a day, if that. We haven't watched an entire movie together in at least a month. One of us always falls asleep partway through it. We tried to carve out some time "camping" (we don't go in for the whole tent-and-sleeping-bag thing, so we stay in cabins) for our anniversary. Unfortunately, Bobby's car is having problems again and we can't afford to fix it. He spent a decent chunk of our together time working on his car at the auto hobby shop at Hickam Air Force Base.

We avoided the young parent experience when we were in Korea. Baby in tow, we went out to all kinds of restaurants, travelled, and had tons and tons of disposable income. I suppose it's only fair that we have to struggle now like our parents did, and countless others before them.

Nonetheless, we did enjoy a wonderful weekend away from all that at one of the most beautiful places on earth, a mere 30 minutes from our condo. We swam in the ocean, played on the playground, walked the trails, and pretended we were far away. Life in paradise definitely has its upsides.

Sunrise

Walking down to the water in front of our cabin

At the beach in front of our cabin

Our cabin

looking at birds

Look! A crab!

Full moon.

Three Going on Thirty

X has been going through this annoying "do everything myself!" phase that ends with a lot of arguments. There are only so many times I can watch him try and wrench the door open before I force his hand, at which point he throws himself on the ground screaming. He knows exactly how he wants every day to go, and if it doesn't go his way, we get a typhoon.

So when his daycare auntie told me that X helped gently coax a timid boy into the splash park, my heart sang a little. Our son, with his 7am screaming fits, may be the bane of our building. But he's a good kid at heart. All else shall pass.

X cavorts at the MARFORPAC band concert

Kaneohe Friendship Gardens Redux

I think the last time we went to the Kaneohe Friendship Gardens, I had X on my back in the Ergo. No more! He hiked the entire thing by himself. It took some prodding and lots of breaks, but he was really proud of himself when he made it to the top.

It rained at first.

LOVE the socks!

Last weekend, I finally had both days off and we went to the beach together. This was a new one for us: North Beach on Marine Corps Base Hawaii. It had a nice little swimming cove.

It has been a wonderful weekend. 

Calvin Lives

When I was growing up, Calvin and Hobbes were some of my favorite book characters. Friends and I recited entire swaths of dialogue. We shared the books. I think we related on a fundamental level. We, too, loved to run around through the woods, crafting these elaborate pretend scenarios while our parents did whatever parents did, far away from us.

I'm absolutely delighted to be raising my own little Calvin now. Besides looking the part, he's appropriately defiant, unappreciative of his mother, and has an imaginary friend. His imaginary friend is his hand, which is a little creepier than a stuffed tiger, but Hand certainly pushes him towards mischief.

I find myself recalling Calvin and Hobbes quite frequently. I think of this strip whenever X jumps in a puddle, picks up a stick, throws rocks in the water, or some other inexplicable kid thing. I think of this one whenever I hear X reciting some elaborate imaginary scenario involving dinosaurs, cars, trains, sea creatures, and/or Hand.

I guess, more than anything, this is a testament to the brilliance of Bill Watterson, capturing childhood in all of it's frustrating and magical glory. I wish I still had the ability to conjure up an entire universe out of nothing but a few plastic toys. Adulthood can seem so dreary sometimes.

Southern Guilt

I'm from the American South. You know, the land of confederate flags, ignorant politicians, and religious fundamentalism. Being in the south is a bit like wandering aimlessly around a department store in that respect. At least four salespeople will approach you and ask you if you need assistance with finding a religion while you're there. We southerners are particularly in the spotlight right now because of the recent massacre of nine African Americans in a church by a white supremacist. I can't talk about that right now; I just don't have the words.

I spend a lot of time defending my home state. North Carolina is many things, including beautiful and rich in culture and history. We have bluegrass, barbecue, and massive outdoor concerts. There is tolerance there as well as ignorance, and there are certainly all kinds of people.

And we have racism. Okay, everyone has racism, but we have a brand of unapologetic racism that is particularly embarrassing. The N word is still openly used in some places. People wear confederate flags on Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Yes, really. You hear things like, "slaves were considered part of the family" and "the Civil War really about state's rights."  I think a part of it stems from an inability to accept the brutal ugliness of our history. Slavery was a horrifying, ghastly thing, and it's only 150 years in our past. Much like there are holocaust deniers, there are people who just can't accept that their ancestors supported owning other human beings. Slavery, of course, is only the beginning. Unlike the Germans after World War II, we white southerners doubled down on our past sins and created Jim Crow laws. We had public lynchings and klan rallies. Being a white southerner comes with a modicum of guilt, and many people just can't accept that.

I like to think that there's hope for us. Millennials come from a global society. They can't help but know people of all stripes, and our ability to recognize the humanity in others is a key weapon against intolerance. After yesterday's massive civil rights victory, I'm hopeful for our future. I, too, believe that the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice, thank you very much Dr. King. But I'm done defending the my home state for awhile. I'm just too disappointed in it right now.