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When I was born, I had three grandparents: my Grandma and Grandpa (maternal) and my Nona (paternal grandmother); my Nonu died when my father was young, long before he immigrated to Canada and met my mother. I never met my Nona, as she lived in Italy and I have yet to travel there. My Grandma and Grandpa lived a few blocks from my house for the majority of my life, so I saw them regularly. My Grandpa is the one who got me into football and baseball, and I have many fond memories of visits to their apartment to watch games. My Grandma is the only surviving grandparent I have left, and her faculties have deteriorated dramatically in the last few years, so much so that sometimes it's like I don't have any grandparents left.
The munchkin, on the other hand, has all four grandparents. My parents live out of town, some four hours away by car. At present, my in-laws are also quite a drive away as they are living at the cottage while they sort out their next local abode. Between my mother's health and my father's insistence that he will remain in their house as long as he can tend his garden and his grape vines, I doubt they will ever be a walk from my house. Given our neighbourhood and my in-laws' desire to live in an "adult" community, I also doubt they will be within walking distance, although I expect their house will be no more than a twenty minute drive from ours.
My in-laws are visiting tonight (in fact, as I type this my MIL is giving the munchkin a bottle while MTM cuts her father's hair). It's funny to see her interact with them now that she sees them far less frequently since they sold their house. She gets a LOT more excited and runs around showing them everything. She isn't really like that with my folks, but I think that has to do with the fact that she never sees them in her house; it's always at their house since my mother cannot make the drive.
I wonder what memories she will have of the four of them. As I said I only knew two of mine and I have very specific memories of each that will remain with me forever. The above mentioned football and baseball games (especially the 1984 World Series) and too many losing seasons in hockey are etched in my brain. The vision of my Grandpa watching a ball game on the television with the sound muted while he listened to a hockey game on the local AM station will always be there. I will remember my Grandma making me single person meatloaves when I left for university, and how good they tasted compared to what I usually ate. I'll remember the five of us (Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, sister and I) driving to mass every Sunday. I'll remember the first time I walked to their apartment by myself.
What will my daughter cling to in the distant future? Surely she will have limited actual memories of this time in her life. However, I've been doing my best to document as much of this time through photos and videos. So what memories will be cherished? Playing in the garden with my MIL? Horsey rides with my FIL? Cuddling with my mother? Watching television while eating cookies with my dad? Probably all of them.
TTS: The More Things Change...
the more they stay the same. This weekend was a "reconnect with Daddy's friends" weekend.
On Friday night we had a friend of mine from university and her new husband over for dinner. I was supposed to be the MC at their wedding but had to bow out due to my ankle (there was no way I could have made it). This was our first chance to see them since their nuptials because they live out on the west coast now and come back infrequently. It was great to see them again. The best part (at least from my perspective) was that MTM got to spend a fair bit of time with my friend while her husband and I goofed around with various multimedia stuff on the computer. It's great when your friends can be your spouse's friend, and when your friends' spouses can be yours.
Saturday afternoon we went to my best man's daughter's birthday party. While we know them through me (I met him at my previous place of employment) they are the couple most suited to being called "our friends". MTM goes to their house during the weekdays (both are stay-at-home moms) and considers his wife one of her close friends. It was fun (well, most of it was fun; I'll let MTM explain that). I particularly enjoyed watching the munchkin interact with the other children. Sitting in our little vacuum of a world, where she is the only child and really just gets to do her own thing, I had thought she was a pretty well behaved kid. While she wasn't a terror, I learned that she still has some social skills to develop. (And that's OK; she's only 17 months.)
On Sunday we had a friend of mine from high school over for lunch. He's been in the city for a while now, but has just recently stopped traveling for work. It was really great to reconnect with him as I hadn't seen him in three years (since our wedding). Unfortunately, he arrived immediately after she woke up from a nap, and she was all out of sorts and was actually wailing in her highchair until Mommy took her in her arms. She eventually warmed up though.
What struck me about the weekend was that the amount of time I had known each of these three friends was inversely proportional to the similarities in our lives AND the frequency of our visits. The "work friend" and I have known each other for seven years - we both have wives and kids, and we last saw each other in July. My "university friend" and I have known each other for thirteen years - we are both married and "settling into" life as adults, and we last saw each other last August. My "high school friend" and I have known each other for eighteen years - and our lives are very dissimilar, and (as mentioned above) we haven't seen each other in three years.
The most fascinating realization came Sunday evening as I thought about my weekend of reconnecting. Despite the long gaps in between our visits, the conversation flowed more easily and more naturally with my high school friend than with the other two. This is a guy who, since I left high school some thirteen years ago, I have seen maybe a total of five times (excluding the two four-month work terms where I worked in the city where he went to university). He is single and lives the life of a musician while I (as you, dear readers know) am a husband, father and nine-to-fiver. Yet somehow we were able to be more open and candid than I am with people who I feel I know better. It was a remarkable thing to me.
On Friday night we had a friend of mine from university and her new husband over for dinner. I was supposed to be the MC at their wedding but had to bow out due to my ankle (there was no way I could have made it). This was our first chance to see them since their nuptials because they live out on the west coast now and come back infrequently. It was great to see them again. The best part (at least from my perspective) was that MTM got to spend a fair bit of time with my friend while her husband and I goofed around with various multimedia stuff on the computer. It's great when your friends can be your spouse's friend, and when your friends' spouses can be yours.
Saturday afternoon we went to my best man's daughter's birthday party. While we know them through me (I met him at my previous place of employment) they are the couple most suited to being called "our friends". MTM goes to their house during the weekdays (both are stay-at-home moms) and considers his wife one of her close friends. It was fun (well, most of it was fun; I'll let MTM explain that). I particularly enjoyed watching the munchkin interact with the other children. Sitting in our little vacuum of a world, where she is the only child and really just gets to do her own thing, I had thought she was a pretty well behaved kid. While she wasn't a terror, I learned that she still has some social skills to develop. (And that's OK; she's only 17 months.)
On Sunday we had a friend of mine from high school over for lunch. He's been in the city for a while now, but has just recently stopped traveling for work. It was really great to reconnect with him as I hadn't seen him in three years (since our wedding). Unfortunately, he arrived immediately after she woke up from a nap, and she was all out of sorts and was actually wailing in her highchair until Mommy took her in her arms. She eventually warmed up though.
What struck me about the weekend was that the amount of time I had known each of these three friends was inversely proportional to the similarities in our lives AND the frequency of our visits. The "work friend" and I have known each other for seven years - we both have wives and kids, and we last saw each other in July. My "university friend" and I have known each other for thirteen years - we are both married and "settling into" life as adults, and we last saw each other last August. My "high school friend" and I have known each other for eighteen years - and our lives are very dissimilar, and (as mentioned above) we haven't seen each other in three years.
The most fascinating realization came Sunday evening as I thought about my weekend of reconnecting. Despite the long gaps in between our visits, the conversation flowed more easily and more naturally with my high school friend than with the other two. This is a guy who, since I left high school some thirteen years ago, I have seen maybe a total of five times (excluding the two four-month work terms where I worked in the city where he went to university). He is single and lives the life of a musician while I (as you, dear readers know) am a husband, father and nine-to-fiver. Yet somehow we were able to be more open and candid than I am with people who I feel I know better. It was a remarkable thing to me.
TTS: Making My Heart Grow Fonder
Yesterday, my girls went up north to the in-laws cottage for the week (or so; it depends on how they're doing come the latter part of the week). I am in day two of what has been referred to as "being a bachelor". I suppose in some ways it is like being a bachelor: I get to decide whether or not to have vegetables at every meal (but of course I always have some veggies - never know who is reading this thing) and I can put what I want on television whenever I want (no more losing out on parts of Law & Order reruns when the little princess comes down for her bottle before bed).
However, as I indicated to my wife before they left, I'd rather they be here. Sure, the return to pre-parenting routines is familiar and refreshing in its difference. But the truth is, if I wanted to live this life I would not have gotten married and chosen to be a father. I knew I would be making sacrifices when I I got married (like canned luncheon meat being off the menu and no more dinners over the kitchen sink) and that there would be more change when our first child arrived (giving up the Monte Carlo for a minivan, no more sleeping in past 7am). I signed up for this.
The truth is, I miss them. It's been less than a full day (technically, since I was at the office yesterday and didn't "realize" they were gone until late afternoon when I returned home) and I'm already wondering whether they will come home Thursday or Friday. It's kind of pathetic, really. I've got this temporary freedom to do stuff I normally cannot do, and (with the exception of sleeping in until 8am this morning) I'm "wasting" it pining for them.
I suppose this is a good thing, since if I didn't really care if they left, or even worse: that I was happier without them, then it would be an indicator of some larger problem. Instead, all we've confirmed is that I'm a sucker for my girls.
However, as I indicated to my wife before they left, I'd rather they be here. Sure, the return to pre-parenting routines is familiar and refreshing in its difference. But the truth is, if I wanted to live this life I would not have gotten married and chosen to be a father. I knew I would be making sacrifices when I I got married (like canned luncheon meat being off the menu and no more dinners over the kitchen sink) and that there would be more change when our first child arrived (giving up the Monte Carlo for a minivan, no more sleeping in past 7am). I signed up for this.
The truth is, I miss them. It's been less than a full day (technically, since I was at the office yesterday and didn't "realize" they were gone until late afternoon when I returned home) and I'm already wondering whether they will come home Thursday or Friday. It's kind of pathetic, really. I've got this temporary freedom to do stuff I normally cannot do, and (with the exception of sleeping in until 8am this morning) I'm "wasting" it pining for them.
I suppose this is a good thing, since if I didn't really care if they left, or even worse: that I was happier without them, then it would be an indicator of some larger problem. Instead, all we've confirmed is that I'm a sucker for my girls.
TTS: Good Enough For Savage Beasts
Music has been an important part of my life since I was five years old and discovered my older sister's Beatles' Red Album and her 45" of Billy Joel's "Still Rock And Roll To Me". Since then my tastes have grown and changed through Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams, U2, MC Hammer, Charlie Parker, Metallica, Nirvana, Crystal Method, Radiohead, and System of a Down. I played recorder in the fifth grade and two years later got into the saxophone (alto) which I still play to this day.
MTM also loves music and has played piano and clarinet (among others, more on that in a few). So, it was only natural that the munchkin would be introduced to music.
Our first attempt was to do the whole classical-through-headphones-on-the-belly-in-utero thing. That only lasted ten seconds before we were frightened by the then "baby" freaking out and punching and kicking (in hindsight, Dvorak's Ninth, 4th movement may not have been the ideal first piece). We were worried the volume was too loud and didn't try it again.
After birth, we did try some classical but found it did little to soothe and often just aggravated. Then one day I said "screw it" and put in a Dizzy Gillespie CD. Wouldn't you know it, she loved Manteca.
Since then we have tried to introduce her to various musical styles and artists. MTM has a children's folk singer (I don't know the name) whom she adores (this is the one she was singing along to in the van). She also loves the Fisher Price "Dance Baby Dance" CD (basically a dance mix of popular children's songs).
I, on the other hand, have been trying to expose her to more mainstream options. Here is a summary of songs/artists and her responses:
Gypsy Soul - "No." (She chose this CD out of the shelf because 1. it was yellow and 2. it was at her height.)
Crystal Method - "No." (I chose this in an attempt to ween her off the Fisher Price dance mix.)
Boomtang Boys - "No." (Another attempt to ween off FP dance music.)
Radiohead - she loves Paranoid Android (we listened to it one night when she was suffering from insomnia and it calmed her down; now she smiles when she hears it)
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick is a recent favourite (and has the added bonus of being two 20 minute tracks, so there's no cries for "more" in between songs like most recordings)
U2 - not really liked or disliked, but since both her parents love the group she is more or less destined to like them as well.
How do we know she likes certain music, you ask? If she likes it, she dances. At the tender age of (gasp - is she that old already?) 17 months she has three basic moves. Move one is the side to side sway. It has the versatility to be used standing or sitting, so it works in the car seat as well. Move two is the bounce. The bounce is complicated because it requires a table to hold on to, but when executed correctly it looks like crazy girl psycho squats. Finally, there's the shoulder roll. This is a new addition, and often gets combined with the side to side sway.
When she was six months old or so, I took out my sax for the first time and played for her. She was more frightened and confused than anything else. It took ten months before I got around to doing it again. This time she really seemed to enjoy herself - I even got some dance moves for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was more interested in the instrument itself than the music I was making but it was still fun to let her press the "buttons" while I blew. Mommy even got in on the act, saying she had played sax in high school. The munchkin's immediate response to Mommy's playing? "Nonono."
MTM also loves music and has played piano and clarinet (among others, more on that in a few). So, it was only natural that the munchkin would be introduced to music.
Our first attempt was to do the whole classical-through-headphones-on-the-belly-in-utero thing. That only lasted ten seconds before we were frightened by the then "baby" freaking out and punching and kicking (in hindsight, Dvorak's Ninth, 4th movement may not have been the ideal first piece). We were worried the volume was too loud and didn't try it again.
After birth, we did try some classical but found it did little to soothe and often just aggravated. Then one day I said "screw it" and put in a Dizzy Gillespie CD. Wouldn't you know it, she loved Manteca.
Since then we have tried to introduce her to various musical styles and artists. MTM has a children's folk singer (I don't know the name) whom she adores (this is the one she was singing along to in the van). She also loves the Fisher Price "Dance Baby Dance" CD (basically a dance mix of popular children's songs).
I, on the other hand, have been trying to expose her to more mainstream options. Here is a summary of songs/artists and her responses:
Gypsy Soul - "No." (She chose this CD out of the shelf because 1. it was yellow and 2. it was at her height.)
Crystal Method - "No." (I chose this in an attempt to ween her off the Fisher Price dance mix.)
Boomtang Boys - "No." (Another attempt to ween off FP dance music.)
Radiohead - she loves Paranoid Android (we listened to it one night when she was suffering from insomnia and it calmed her down; now she smiles when she hears it)
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick is a recent favourite (and has the added bonus of being two 20 minute tracks, so there's no cries for "more" in between songs like most recordings)
U2 - not really liked or disliked, but since both her parents love the group she is more or less destined to like them as well.
How do we know she likes certain music, you ask? If she likes it, she dances. At the tender age of (gasp - is she that old already?) 17 months she has three basic moves. Move one is the side to side sway. It has the versatility to be used standing or sitting, so it works in the car seat as well. Move two is the bounce. The bounce is complicated because it requires a table to hold on to, but when executed correctly it looks like crazy girl psycho squats. Finally, there's the shoulder roll. This is a new addition, and often gets combined with the side to side sway.
When she was six months old or so, I took out my sax for the first time and played for her. She was more frightened and confused than anything else. It took ten months before I got around to doing it again. This time she really seemed to enjoy herself - I even got some dance moves for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was more interested in the instrument itself than the music I was making but it was still fun to let her press the "buttons" while I blew. Mommy even got in on the act, saying she had played sax in high school. The munchkin's immediate response to Mommy's playing? "Nonono."
TBS: Blogiquette
This is not so much a post about being a father, more about being a blogging father. Recently I was doing something I call "link jumping", where I just click one link on a page and then (after reading some content) click a link on that destination page to another and another.
I started on my wife's blog, and clicked her Technorati link to view blogs that linked to her. I found (to no one's surprise) that my blog linked there. However, I learned that there were blogs that linked to mine. I knew of MTM's links, but the others surprised me. Also, I recently received my first comment from a stranger (my previous lone comment came from a friend). Since more than 50% of the 184 hits my counter has picked up are from me fiddling with layout and content, there aren't that many people reading this, so any interaction with strangers is a surprise.
Before this is perceived as me complaining about strangers linking to me, let me say that I love to receive comments, and it is flattering to have someone list me on their links list or blogroll. (Aside: if you lurk here and I don't know you, post a comment. I would really enjoy knowing who reads this.) However, the thing I find fascinating is who is doing the linking. These people seem to have very little in common with me, yet they "connect" to me through the blogoshpere.
What is the protocol for such things? My perspective is that comments are fair game: you blog and allow for comments, you're going to get comments. However, the linking/blogrolling thing is a little more fuzzy. Considering how I felt when I learned someone had added me, I think I will go and tell the two blogs I list that I've listed them. I owe it to them. Hopefully I'm not one of those "why are they linking to me?" type of links.
With that being said: uncloak, ye lurkers, and make your existence known!
I started on my wife's blog, and clicked her Technorati link to view blogs that linked to her. I found (to no one's surprise) that my blog linked there. However, I learned that there were blogs that linked to mine. I knew of MTM's links, but the others surprised me. Also, I recently received my first comment from a stranger (my previous lone comment came from a friend). Since more than 50% of the 184 hits my counter has picked up are from me fiddling with layout and content, there aren't that many people reading this, so any interaction with strangers is a surprise.
Before this is perceived as me complaining about strangers linking to me, let me say that I love to receive comments, and it is flattering to have someone list me on their links list or blogroll. (Aside: if you lurk here and I don't know you, post a comment. I would really enjoy knowing who reads this.) However, the thing I find fascinating is who is doing the linking. These people seem to have very little in common with me, yet they "connect" to me through the blogoshpere.
What is the protocol for such things? My perspective is that comments are fair game: you blog and allow for comments, you're going to get comments. However, the linking/blogrolling thing is a little more fuzzy. Considering how I felt when I learned someone had added me, I think I will go and tell the two blogs I list that I've listed them. I owe it to them. Hopefully I'm not one of those "why are they linking to me?" type of links.
With that being said: uncloak, ye lurkers, and make your existence known!
TRS: C is for Camel...
The last two days have been somewhat of a closure for my broken ankle. It's not completely healed; that will take six months to a year. However, things are approaching "normal" (as normal as my life ever was). The two events were going to the zoo yesterday (we were supposed to go to the zoo the morning I broke my ankle) and driving myself into the office this morning. Since I doubt a commuter blog would interest many, I shall focus on the zoo.
Our local zoo has a water park and splash pad as part of the attractions. We planned to bring the munchkin there first, since she enjoys that kind of thing, and since sitting in a hot car to drive there makes her less amiable to sitting in a hot stroller walking around. So, while MTM and the munchkin roamed the various sprinklers (and carefully avoided the large plastic beaver that frightened the little one) I sat and rested (while allowing the ibuprofen to work its anti-inflammatory magic). The other highlight of the splash pad (aside from the terrorizing beaver) was that she spent about half her time walking back and forth across a little bridge that had NO water spraying on it.
Allow me to clarify: the splash pad we were at is (according to the website) two acres in size. There were (in addition to the scary beaver) two sturgeons, two walrus heads, a killer whale, several slides, a hippo, and more animals I cannot recall - all providing some spray, mist or trickle. My kid? She wants to waddle back and forth across a ten foot bridge set one foot above the ground while her mother anxiously tries to simultaneously protect her and allow her freedom.
We also saw some real animals. With my still limited mobility, we stayed close to the entrance and only went to the Americas. (Aside: the local zoo is one of the only ones that groups the animal exhibits by geography instead of classification.) The munchkin was able to see a (very lethargic) polar bear (known to her as the animal that starts off the Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle classic Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?) before heading over to some llamas and flamingos. Eventually we wandered over to the spider monkeys (who were thankfully far more animated than the polar bear) and next to them the jaguars.
There is also a "Kids Zoo", which has local species such as livestock and local wildlife. The munchkin got to see real bunnies, wild turkeys, pigs, goats, and groundhogs. There was even an emu. Unfortunately, she spent the majority of her time in the Kid's Zoo asking for camels, which she saw as we approached. MTM is worried about the day she figures out that not only can she see the camels, but she can also ride them as well.
Our local zoo has a water park and splash pad as part of the attractions. We planned to bring the munchkin there first, since she enjoys that kind of thing, and since sitting in a hot car to drive there makes her less amiable to sitting in a hot stroller walking around. So, while MTM and the munchkin roamed the various sprinklers (and carefully avoided the large plastic beaver that frightened the little one) I sat and rested (while allowing the ibuprofen to work its anti-inflammatory magic). The other highlight of the splash pad (aside from the terrorizing beaver) was that she spent about half her time walking back and forth across a little bridge that had NO water spraying on it.
Allow me to clarify: the splash pad we were at is (according to the website) two acres in size. There were (in addition to the scary beaver) two sturgeons, two walrus heads, a killer whale, several slides, a hippo, and more animals I cannot recall - all providing some spray, mist or trickle. My kid? She wants to waddle back and forth across a ten foot bridge set one foot above the ground while her mother anxiously tries to simultaneously protect her and allow her freedom.
We also saw some real animals. With my still limited mobility, we stayed close to the entrance and only went to the Americas. (Aside: the local zoo is one of the only ones that groups the animal exhibits by geography instead of classification.) The munchkin was able to see a (very lethargic) polar bear (known to her as the animal that starts off the Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle classic Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?) before heading over to some llamas and flamingos. Eventually we wandered over to the spider monkeys (who were thankfully far more animated than the polar bear) and next to them the jaguars.
There is also a "Kids Zoo", which has local species such as livestock and local wildlife. The munchkin got to see real bunnies, wild turkeys, pigs, goats, and groundhogs. There was even an emu. Unfortunately, she spent the majority of her time in the Kid's Zoo asking for camels, which she saw as we approached. MTM is worried about the day she figures out that not only can she see the camels, but she can also ride them as well.
TTS: Looking Back
As I have mentioned before, one of my hobbies is to make the myriad of photos and video clips we take into DVDs for home viewing. Being a computer "geek", I found the opportunity to learn something new with software challenging. It has turned into a full-fledged hobby now, where I spend more time trying to get the aesthetics right than I used to. (Just ask MTM about my original VCDs with no audio and no transition effects.)
With my broken ankle, I was susceptible to more online shopping. So, while I was convalescing I ended up adding two new toys (gadgets) to my arsenal of video production: a slide/negative scanner and a video capture device.
The video capture device is pretty interesting. It allows me to input any RCA content (the standard red, white, yellow) and capture it to DVD format on my hard drive. I have used it to convert wedding videos on VHS (even one from the 1940s that was originally from 8mm) and some old home movies of MTM's. The scanner was purchased mainly to scan all of my mother-in-law's slides (she has some from as far back as the 1950s) instead of looking for a carousel slide projector. However, I have also used it to scan old negatives.
The results are amazing. After the initial period post-birth where she looked just like me (a holdover from a time when man could not perform paternity testing) the munchkin has slowly morphed into MTM's mini-me. Now, I have photographic evidence of just how alike they are. It's been remarkable to see the similarities between the two of them, especially the subtle behavioural stuff from the videos. She really is MTM's little girl. Sadly, there are no videos of me as a baby, and the majority of negatives appear to have been misplaced or discarded.
These two new toys have afforded me the opportunity to peruse old photos, slides and home movies. It's my hope that when I am done (OK realistically I will never actually be "done"; let's say when I have completed a portion) that the munchkin will be able to watch similar slideshows of her mother growing up, and view the few clips we have of MTM as a young child. I believe family history, knowing one's roots, is important. It's my hope that someday she will benefit from these scans and captures.
Warning: techno-speak alert!
I have read a lot of speculation about what viable records our society will leave since we live in such a digital age. Many people do not print digital photos and are content to view them on computers or televisions via optical media. The question being raised is thousands of years from now what will our society leave behind? We do not write on stone tablets. We do not write on paper. We blog on the internet. We trust some faceless server farm as record-keeper of our logs.
Personally, I believe we will leave sufficient information, although it may take some time to read the data. However, I would like to take some time to encourage everyone to back up their digital photos, blog posts, whatever. Hard drives can crash. It takes little time to dump everything to a CD or DVD. Occasionally test your backups to make sure they are still readable. If the DVD has problems, copy everything you can from it and then make a new backup. A scratched DVD may mean you lose 5% of the data on it, but 95% is better than nothing.
There are urban myths that optical media (DVDs, CDs) will "rot". This is untrue: realistically the technology will become outdated before the media will (think how hard it is to find an 8-track player now; the tapes still work, though).
If you're not interested in backing data up for yourself, think of a future grandchild who gets an itch like I have for the past.
With my broken ankle, I was susceptible to more online shopping. So, while I was convalescing I ended up adding two new toys (gadgets) to my arsenal of video production: a slide/negative scanner and a video capture device.
The video capture device is pretty interesting. It allows me to input any RCA content (the standard red, white, yellow) and capture it to DVD format on my hard drive. I have used it to convert wedding videos on VHS (even one from the 1940s that was originally from 8mm) and some old home movies of MTM's. The scanner was purchased mainly to scan all of my mother-in-law's slides (she has some from as far back as the 1950s) instead of looking for a carousel slide projector. However, I have also used it to scan old negatives.
The results are amazing. After the initial period post-birth where she looked just like me (a holdover from a time when man could not perform paternity testing) the munchkin has slowly morphed into MTM's mini-me. Now, I have photographic evidence of just how alike they are. It's been remarkable to see the similarities between the two of them, especially the subtle behavioural stuff from the videos. She really is MTM's little girl. Sadly, there are no videos of me as a baby, and the majority of negatives appear to have been misplaced or discarded.
These two new toys have afforded me the opportunity to peruse old photos, slides and home movies. It's my hope that when I am done (OK realistically I will never actually be "done"; let's say when I have completed a portion) that the munchkin will be able to watch similar slideshows of her mother growing up, and view the few clips we have of MTM as a young child. I believe family history, knowing one's roots, is important. It's my hope that someday she will benefit from these scans and captures.
Warning: techno-speak alert!
I have read a lot of speculation about what viable records our society will leave since we live in such a digital age. Many people do not print digital photos and are content to view them on computers or televisions via optical media. The question being raised is thousands of years from now what will our society leave behind? We do not write on stone tablets. We do not write on paper. We blog on the internet. We trust some faceless server farm as record-keeper of our logs.
Personally, I believe we will leave sufficient information, although it may take some time to read the data. However, I would like to take some time to encourage everyone to back up their digital photos, blog posts, whatever. Hard drives can crash. It takes little time to dump everything to a CD or DVD. Occasionally test your backups to make sure they are still readable. If the DVD has problems, copy everything you can from it and then make a new backup. A scratched DVD may mean you lose 5% of the data on it, but 95% is better than nothing.
There are urban myths that optical media (DVDs, CDs) will "rot". This is untrue: realistically the technology will become outdated before the media will (think how hard it is to find an 8-track player now; the tapes still work, though).
If you're not interested in backing data up for yourself, think of a future grandchild who gets an itch like I have for the past.
TRS: Wild Weekend
We spent the Civic Holiday weekend with my parents in a rare "just the five of us" situation since my sisters were busy with other matters. It was my parents' wedding anniversary on Saturday so we went out for dinner to a local seafood restaurant where the munchkin sampled the perch ("All done" after one mouthful) and halibut ("Mmm!") Sadly, I forgot to offer her tartar sauce for dipping (a current favourite activity) so we'll save that for another time.
Saturday also saw some fun for my mother, as she was picked up from the hairdressers by the three of us (and was subsequently able to show the munchkin off to the people there who listen to her talk about her grandchildren all the time). We then went to her favourite children's boutique for a little clothes shopping (and more "look at my grand-daughter" talk). Yes, Grandma was proud and unashamed to show it.
The real fun happened on Sunday. In the afternoon we went to the mall and purchased a Corn Popper that would eventually be pulled (dragged) behind the three of us for the better length of the mall. Despite several attempts to encourage positioning the popper in the forward/pushing manner, we decided it was better dragged behind us.
That evening, we went to the annual alumni concert for a marching band I was in at a local park. You see, before I became a husband/father/engineer I was (am?) a marching band geek who played saxophone in thick red polyester (with a white cotton ascot). The munchkin danced and said "Hi" to many, many people (a few of whom I even knew) and generally had a pretty good time. I was able to reconnect with a few people I hadn't seen since I left town (and unfortunately was able to feel exceptionally old when we did the math and realized I left almost thirteen years ago).
The personal highlight of the weekend came on the ride home from the concert. MTM and I were sitting in the front seat having a conversation (and assuming that given the late hour the munchkin was sleeping in the back of the darkened van) when we heard her pipe up with a word neither of us could identify. What followed is transcribed below:
Daddy: "What was that?"
Mommy: "I don't know. She's probably talking in her sleep."
five second pause
Munchkin: "Wake"
one second pause
Munchkin: "Hop. Stop."
three second pause
Daddy: "Omigod! I think she's singing along to the tape."
Mommy: "Seriously? I didn't even know it was on. Let's test this."
Mommy rewinds the tape
Munchkin: "Seep. Sshh. Wake. Hop! Stop!"
muffled laughs from the front seat
For those of you who aren't familiar with the song, you can check this out.
Saturday also saw some fun for my mother, as she was picked up from the hairdressers by the three of us (and was subsequently able to show the munchkin off to the people there who listen to her talk about her grandchildren all the time). We then went to her favourite children's boutique for a little clothes shopping (and more "look at my grand-daughter" talk). Yes, Grandma was proud and unashamed to show it.
The real fun happened on Sunday. In the afternoon we went to the mall and purchased a Corn Popper that would eventually be pulled (dragged) behind the three of us for the better length of the mall. Despite several attempts to encourage positioning the popper in the forward/pushing manner, we decided it was better dragged behind us.
That evening, we went to the annual alumni concert for a marching band I was in at a local park. You see, before I became a husband/father/engineer I was (am?) a marching band geek who played saxophone in thick red polyester (with a white cotton ascot). The munchkin danced and said "Hi" to many, many people (a few of whom I even knew) and generally had a pretty good time. I was able to reconnect with a few people I hadn't seen since I left town (and unfortunately was able to feel exceptionally old when we did the math and realized I left almost thirteen years ago).
The personal highlight of the weekend came on the ride home from the concert. MTM and I were sitting in the front seat having a conversation (and assuming that given the late hour the munchkin was sleeping in the back of the darkened van) when we heard her pipe up with a word neither of us could identify. What followed is transcribed below:
Daddy: "What was that?"
Mommy: "I don't know. She's probably talking in her sleep."
five second pause
Munchkin: "Wake"
one second pause
Munchkin: "Hop. Stop."
three second pause
Daddy: "Omigod! I think she's singing along to the tape."
Mommy: "Seriously? I didn't even know it was on. Let's test this."
Mommy rewinds the tape
Munchkin: "Seep. Sshh. Wake. Hop! Stop!"
muffled laughs from the front seat
For those of you who aren't familiar with the song, you can check this out.
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