I'm struggling here to figure out if school happened today at all. The Girl did the donkey for a pin-the-tail game, and Judd the Red Chicken did the tails...So, I guess we did art.
Today is The Sister's birthday. We got up early to do a little birthday decorating, made some eggs, and went back down to the Lower East Side. The Sister tries to eat responsibly, so we realized that if she was ever going to experience Doughnut Plant bliss it would probably have to be on a special occasion, like her birthday. We figured that the eggs would act as a sufficient protein block (so, I guess the kids had a nutrition/health lesson), and we headed south.
After partaking, we walked a couple of blocks to our favorite fish store (so, I guess they had a Biology lesson), and Judd the Red Chicken bought some new fish for his aquarium with some money that his Grandma gave him. He felt that today would be appropriate, not only because the fish store is so close to where one gains doughnut euphoria, but also because he wanted to name a fish after his aunt. If you ever want to see a bunch of cool aquarium fish and giggle over the fact that only in NYC would there be a store that sells both pet fish and bait you MUST go to Pacific Aquarium. The people that work there are crazy-kind. They will talk to my son and answer every question he has for a full twenty minutes even though they know he's only buying a three-dollar fish.
This afternoon, after the fish all got to know each other, The Sister spent her day doing a family tradition that the kids started doing a couple of years ago.
Back up so I can give proper homage: we know a couple that are exactly what you want your kids to be when they grow up. They have a tradition that we copied. And it's actually because we copied it from them that I am sharing it now. I kind of think that service is usually best when it's secret service... but if this cute couple had kept their tradition a secret, we would never have learned of it... so here's to sharing good ideas in the spirit of promoting propagation, not for a pat on the back.
Here's the tradition: on their birthdays I let them cut school to spend the day doing acts of kindness -- with the goal of doing as many as their new age. The Sister was turning 17, so she had 17 services to do. She was a bit overwhelmed by it, so I told her it was her choice. The kids, however, rather obnoxiously insisted, so she agreed. I think this was her final list:
1. Helped the neighbor set-up her new iPod dock/clock (she actually did this yesterday, but the kids thought she should count it, as they always try to include that neighbor in their days of service).
2. Held the elevator for a long time for a group of people (this is kind of a big deal in New York where people will look you straight in the face as you're rushing to make it, and lean over and push the "Door Close" button -- they will continue looking you in the eye as the door closes between the two of you).
3. Made the kids' beds beautifully (they told her that she was welcome to do this daily).
4. Swiped her Metro card in the subway station for a flustered lady whose card wasn't working.
5. Opened the door for an elderly gentleman.
6. Handed out flowers to people on the street. Note: one lady was so taken by this she exchanged phone numbers with her because she wanted to introduce her to her son who's in his first year of college. Personally, I think the service cancels out if you get a boy's email address out of it, but as The Sister pointed out, she gave out other flowers, too.
7. Gave cookies to the doormen.
8. Bought a bag of groceries and gave it to a homeless lady.
9. Gave $3 to a homeless veteran.
10. Gave balloons to a couple of kids.
11. Took the kids to the park for a few minutes so my doughnut-induced headache could have a fighting chance to go away.
12. While at the park, picked up trash.
13. Helped clean up around here.
14. Helped a confused person in the elevator.
15. Returned some mail to the neighbor that was mistakenly put in our box.
16. Wrote a letter to Mom.
17. Wrote a letter to a friend.
There are some things to be learned from a day of service: 1. If you look for it, there are a lot of opportunities to help out 2. Most people are doing a lot of little kind acts everyday 3. When you try to serve, some people are gracious and grateful, and others are suspicious and mean. The Sister shared how she felt when a woman was rude to her when she tried to give her a flower -- the kids jumped right in with their stories from the trenches.
Sometimes the experience is beautiful -- like when The Boy gave a flower to a lady who started crying because it was her birthday, too, and nobody here knew because she was far from home, and she had been feeling sad. She asked him for his name and told him that every year on their birthday she would think of him. Gorgeous.
Then there are those who must think that the kid is going to hand them the tulip and then demand ten bucks or something, so they throw up a hand or hunch their shoulders and say, "No!"... or just grunt. Whenever that happens I feel so badly for the kids. It actually takes some gumption to go up and offer, so when they're rebuffed it hurts -- kind of makes them feel icky, like they did something wrong.
So, service -- you need to know how to give it and how to take it, right?
I guess I provided an act of service to the kids by not having them do any formal lessons today. They certainly don't have a problem accepting service... Oh well, a favorite aunt only turns 17 once. We are so happy we got to spend the day with her.
