snapshots

Inspired by a tv episode of Little Bear this morning Risa decided to make soup for her daddy's birthday. It was a little while before I realized what all the focused activity in the kitchen was all about. I should mention that I've joked before about having Risa cook us dinner by the time she's 5. I guess that time has arrived.

When I arrived in the kitchen, Risa had gathered a pot, a plate for cutting, a butter knife, and various vegetables from our refridgerator. She had used the butter knife to cut off small pieces of broccoli and cauliflower, and cut a tomato in half. She then threw in 2 mushrooms and a few sections of onion which had already been cut. She used a measuring cup to get water from the dispenser in our fridge and poured it into the pot. My only intervention was to advise adding salt and pepper, which I let her scoop in with an appropriate measuring spoon. The only help she asked for was to put the pot on the stove to cook. This dish will be her contribution to tonight's family dinner party for her daddy's and grandpa's birthdays.

While she's out at the playground with dad, I snuck a taste. It's mighty fine, indeed.

Risa's dream has come true and we took her to a free trial martial arts class. She attended a tot session which had 4-6 year olds, in a dojo that seemed to have good word of mouth reviews from the few friends I've spoken with. It's one of a number of new dojos in Vancouver, practicing a hybrid style of martial art.

A few thoughts as I watched and looked around:

"I am a lion. I refuse to lie down with the sheep"
- hmmm

"I will respect the value of all living things"
- nicely Buddhist, but how does that jive with lions and sheep?

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery..."
- heeyyyyy, I know where that came from

Then out came the punching dummy, a life sized upper half rubber manequin stoicly taking it on the kisser from a 5 year old. Which stirred up the conflicting feelings I have about martial arts in general. The big questions/thoughts that came to my mind following this were:

1. What kind of world do we live in where a 5 year old is being taught to punch someone in the throat?
   
2. Given all the positive arguements for discipline, fitness, and confidence building, doesn't it all boil down to fighting? "It's not just about punching and kicking" is a common comment. Well, it's just about 50% of it.
   
3. I guess the world hasn't changed much from ancient times, when a 5 year old could be doing the same thing in China.
   
4. I guess I was only partially joking when I said I could send Risa to Shaolin Temple for 7 years.
   
5. Would the sensei from this dojo be able to stand up to a butt kicking from a Shaolin monk?
   

I admit I hope that through this class Risa will actually eventually learn that punching and kicking hurts. She will never learn that from our hands, and she is entering the point where she'll listen to others rather than us (at least on the surface). Defying us has begun.

The instructors were very good with the kids and, most importantly, Risa enjoyed the class and wants to carry on. She even participated in her first "tournament". The kids paired up for a one-on-one contest where an object was placed on the floor and each child had to try to grab it first. The first child to grab it then had to run and touch the wall because the second child could still score a "point" if he could tag the first child. Risa won her round.

She now has a uniform and will begin her training. I'll just wait and see.

Here's a shameless plug for myself. I've entered a photo/haiku contest for Olympus, using a photo and haiku that I've previously posted on this very blog. Unfortunately, voting is a pain - you have to register with an e-mail address, but if you have patience and can vote (as many times as you want, apparently) for my entry I would much appreciate it! My entry number is: B1R-YY9. It's important that this photo be displayed before you click on vote! I made a mistake and inadvertently voted for someone else's entry.

View and vote here

According to the weather forecast in today's Globe and Mail, we are the hottest major city in Canada. In the previous post you can see Risa is actually wearing a sweater in Toronto, but here we spent 3 1/2 hours cooling off at Maple Grove Pool, a beautiful public facility that is basically a big childrens' pool. The "deep" end is only 1 meter deep, with toddler wading sections at each end, and an island in the middle. Here we're having a small picnic lunch before jumping back in for another cool down. Adult admission was $2, with kids 5 and under free. The pool's design reminded me of the pools in a certain Mexican resort on one our family vacations. Too bad dad had to work...

Today we decided to check out Canada Day celebrations in a different neighborhood: Steveston in Richmond. It was as crazy crowded as any of the other venues we've seen in town on Canada's birthday. Risa has fun anywhere.

I was thiiisss close to yelling at another person's kid today. Risa wasn't involved. We were at a very busy shopping mall kids play area, and I saw a 4 year old boy pummel a smaller boy in the back for a few seconds, for no good reason (they apparently knew each other). The smaller boy was not seriously hurt, but did start crying and ran to his caretaker. You can say boys will be boys, but this was not a go. I was shocked but managed to scowl at the boy when he turned and looked at me. They both ran out of my sight and I tried to listen for the corresponding parental admonishment, but heard nothing. I'm not used to little boys.

Well, I'm tired of seeing bad behavior go unchecked. It takes a village to raise a child so they say, so next time, I just might let loose and start yelling.