The Girl and the Art Installation

This past weekend, the Girl and I went the to Delta Family Picnic, at which there were many activities, booths, and kiddie rides.

There was also an art installation. So, the Girl dressed up as an owl,

And then climbed inside of an enormous, inflatable fish:

The installation, or choreographed participatory event, was called the Nylon Zoo by Evelyn Roth.

From Roth’s site:

The NYLON ZOO is a choreographed participatory event – you are the dancers and performers! Fly like a bird, hop as a frog or rabbit, twirl in a rainbow cape, swim like a fish, bobble like a hoopla mushroom. The costumes fit all ages from 2 to 102 and are designed to make you move. It’s an interactive story event as children and parents enter the giant inflatable storytelling theatre.

I think it’s pretty weird, but in an absolutely wonderful way. I love the presence of random objects with which (in this case in which) you can interact.  The Girl went right in there, where she was guided in a series of movements inside of the multicoloured fish (“everyone touch something green!”). And costumes – I’m all over ‘em, and so is the Girl.

I wish I’d realized that I was allowed in, too!

Evelyn Roth rents some of her designs for events. You can visit Evelyn Roth’s site for more information about a variety of inflatables she’s made.

The Girl and Father’s Day Night At The School

Father’s Day was extended for us this year, as the two Kindergarten classes at the Girl’s school extended an invitation to Dads to come play, and have snacks at the school one evening. The Girl invited me personally, excited to have me in a little corner of her world where I am not a regular inhabitant.

That is part of what it is to be a kid; to have compartments of reality and experience, and then reveling in the feeling that is created when there is overlap between the worlds. I remember feeling that when I was a kid, showing my parents around my school, my class, my professional world at the time. It’s no different for the Girl.

So, we grabbed a quick dinner after I picked her up from her daycare, went to the supermarket to pick up our share of the refreshments for the evening, and then it was onto the school gym to play!

The gym was filled with colourful gym equipment; floor hockey sticks, day-glo jump ropes, balls, scoops, and of course HULA HOOPS! I got more exercise then I have for a long time.

Then, we had snacks.  And who could resist a cookie with bright red sprinkles? I mean I ask you!

Then, after some time in the schoolyard on the monkey bars, it was time to reconvene in the gym for a song or two, or three.

Understand, that the room was full of dads. So, when I got choked up during a rendition of “I Love the Mountains (Boom-Dee-Ah-Da)”, I had to hold it together, man.  I just about managed it.

Just before we left, The Girl’s teacher Ms. Townshend said something true; that these are the types of memories that a child will treasure. That although she sees her role as important, it is our role, our participation, that our children will hold in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Of course, another side of that is that fathers too will do the same.

The Girl ran to me and told me how much she loves me. I told her how much I love her. Then, she yelled in my ear, and then giggled mischievously. Things just about balanced out then.

On the way back to her Mum’s in the car, we began to sing – not the cute song she sang in the gym, but some wacky pop song she knows that include the words “baby, baby, baby”. I felt it was the right time to teach her “I Got The Feelin’” by James Brown, the Godfather of Soul to show her where that sort of thing comes from. So, I sang it to her in the car as we drove back to her Mum’s. She loved it.

It was a good day.

The Girl and the Father’s Day Nature Walk

One of my favourite things to do is walk around and look at stuff.

So, in keeping with the idea that the Girl loves details, the perfect thing to do for everyone on Father’s Day, as it turned out, was to take walk in the drizzle while visiting my Mum in North Vancouver.

And while in the drizzle, with a stop at the park, we took stock of the surrounding flora and fauna.

And we took some pictures.

Some particularly lurid fungus growing on a fallen log. It was beautiful in its own way. But, something about it said 'please don't touch'. Is there a mycologist in the house?

Buttercups are seen as a blight on lawns. I disagree, and so does the Girl.

A proffered buttercup on Father's Day.

The snail; look at that S-car go!

Beauty and the invertebrate

A garden slug. They grow 'em big around here.

See what I mean? He's nearly as big as the Girl's foot!

Robin in the rain, such a saucy fellow ...

My little naturalist ...

The Girl and Her First Dance Recital

Now, this is hardcore payoff Dad stuff, kids.

The Girl appeared on stage this past Thursday evening in her first dance recital. She looked like this:

Photo: The Girl's Gramm

I can’t show you any pics of her doing her thing. We weren’t permitted to take our own pictures during the show. But, more to follow on this, no doubt. She’s signed up for next year.

The most important thing for me, was that when she came out on stage and saw us in the audience (me, her Mum, her Nana) her face lit up, and we had full-on dimple action. She did her dance very well, and she left feeling excited about it.

It was awesome.

The Girl and Details

One thing I’ve observed about the Girl is that she loves what we adults might consider minutiae. She loves details.

In my less-than-patient moments, I call it dawdling. When it’s time to be somewhere on time, stopping to pick up a dandelion can be a bit of an irritant to an uptight Dad.

I know I need to get over stuff like that.

Because, ultimately I kind of admire it. She notices things. She sees life on a level that the rest of us often miss.

She notices things like dew drops on leaves, for instance. She sees worms twisting on sidewalks. Her eye is drawn to the intricacies of a snail’s shell, left behind after a rainstorm. She can see life happening in anything.

One day, we went to the park, ostensibly to play in the playground. But, we were sidelined by an expanse of daisies in the grass. She stooped down, and was lost in them. I myself sat down on the self-same grass, and stretched out and watched her disappear into a microworld of her own making.

There are times when I feel like as we get older, we lose one of our senses. It’s that sense that tells us the location of the heart of life itself. I often think that schedules and false obligations sidetrack us as we get older. But, if we’re lucky, we have someone in our lives to help remind us where that sense is again, and to where it can lead us.

The Girl and Being Asleep in the Car

I don’t know whether it’s the smooth suspension in my car, the quality of my driving, or that the Girl has a very busy day. But, when picking her up from daycare, and driving her back to my place, this is often the result:

Please note: I did not take this while driving. So, don’t be silly.

I may have taken this picture because she looks so cute in it. But, no one can prove a thing.

The Girl and Negotiations

The Girl, her Nana, and I were walking to the park, with the Girl in the middle. She wanted to do that thing where she runs and swings on our arms as we walked. I don’t know if there’s a name for it. There should be, since I think every kid does it.

In any case, both Nana and I know that the fun never ends with that game, even if our arms have finite power. So, it seemed like we should put some limitations on it.

Me: How many times should we swing you? Pick a number.

The Girl: One hundred!

Me: One hundred is too many. How about four?

The Girl: Twenty!

Me: Try six …

The Girl: Ten!

(we may be getting somewhere with this, thought Dad, foolishly …)

Me: Eight.

The Girl: Ten! I want ten!

Me: I’m offering you eight. I’d take that deal.

The Girl: Ten, ten, ten!

Me: Wait a minute. What’s in it for me? Why would I agree to ten? Eight is my final offer!

The Girl: Ten!

Me. OK. Seven. You see what’s happening here? If you dig your heels in, you get less, or even none. Take eight. It’s a good deal.

The Girl: Now, I want … TWENTY!

Nana: I don’t think she’s getting this …

Later, Nana and I discussed how the art of negotiation will become more and more important to both me and the Girl when she gets older, and when she has more direct control over more areas of her life. But, even now, it’s a pretty good exercise to ramp up to that later stage, just because negotiation is all about understanding the motivations and points of view of other people. It’s a key building block in figuring out how all relationships are supposed to work.

It’s during negotiations that a kid can exercise their capacity for empathy, and for creating situations where everyone involved gains some kind of benefit. And empathy and the communication that comes out of it are, as we know by now, are the single most important skills in the world.

The Girl and Karate, 2

This past weekend, the Girl participated in her first karate demonstration at Scottsdale Mall in Delta as a part of National Police week. She was there with a number of other kids her age, and slightly older. Many of the kids really had their moves down.

The demonstration was a lot of fun for everyone, especially the kids. The Girl was really, really looking forward to it. But, mostly, it was to show that anyone can be involved in martial arts, even little ones.

Here are some select pictures!

The fighting stance, with reverse punch

Keee- yai!!!

The Girl was momentarily distracted by the Police Bear.

Keee-yai again!!

Afterwards, the kids got a Krispy Kreme donut. I can’t imagine Bruce Lee eating one of these (actually, I think Kung-Fu was his particular discipline …). But, what the heck.