Future Dreams

As told to me by Miss Brooke (M's teacher at school).

I don't understand why we ask kids "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Heck, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! I consider career changes all the time. Perhaps it's a way to help children envision a future, or to identify differences among adults. Perhaps it's just amusing for adults to hear their responses. I don't know.

At any rate, Margot has wavered between wanting to be a ballerina, a doctor, a firefighter, and a ballerina/doctor (maybe she means sports medicine?). One thing she is adament about: she's not going to college. Any suggestion to the contrary brings her to tears. She says she wants to live with me and Brodie forever. (This fear of college resulted from her Aunt Teal moving away to attend college two years ago.)

For the past few weeks, Margot's class has been studying dirt and all things dirt-related (i.e., landscapes, rocks, worms, etc.). Yesterday, her class learned about different kinds of jobs related to soil: archaeologists, miners, landscapers, construction workers, geologists, and gemologists. Her teacher asked which kids would like to do which job when they grow up. There was heavy interest in gemology amongst the girls in her class, and construction amongst the boys.

Margot's response? "None. I want to be a pretty person on stage."

Entrepreneurial

Margot's imagination is constantly developing entrepreneurial ideas (that is definitely Brodie's disposition shining through).

For instance, a few months ago she had a brilliant idea for a 'towel-less' bathroom. Her idea was that she would step out of the shower/bath and a blow dryer would blast her with warm air, instantly drying her skin and eliminating the need for a towel.

I personally thought this would be a great idea for high-end hotels, and wondered if the energy needed to run the dryer would be better than the water wasted in laundering all those towels every day. Innovative AND green! (Brodie thought this idea already exists somewhere.)

This morning it is pouring out (April showers...). As we pulled out of our neighborhood on our way to preschool/work, Margot saw a girl waiting at her busstop. The girl had a raincoat on to stay dry, but Min noted her backpack was getting soaked.

"What if there could be some kind of umbrella holder on a backpack so it could stay dry?" asked Margot. "Or what if a backpack had hands so it could hold its own umbrella?"

I smiled at that.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." -- Albert Einstein

Jonas Brothers vs. Lehman Brothers

Clearly Margot's two worlds are colliding, and with mixed results. As she grows up and encounters new friends (with older siblings!) at school, she's learning more and more about pop culture (for better or for worse). Coupled with the business-talk she hears at home, it makes for very amusing discussions.

On the way home from school today, Margot asked me: "Who are the Lehman Brothers?"

Surprised, I tried to think of the simplest answer I could. "It's a company, honey," I said, too tired to delve into explanations of bankruptcy and unsure how much of Lehman Brothers even exists now. "You should ask Daddy - he can explain Lehman Brothers better."

(Sidenote - Brodie and I long ago divided topics that we'll teach Margot. Me = life sciences, vocabulary, writing, health, languages. Brodie = all math after fractions, world history, business/finance, budgeting, sports, architecture. It should be a good balance.)

Margot thought for a moment. "Well, are they like the Jonas Brothers?"

Some of you may have to follow the links to appreciate the difference between the two, but I guarantee it's a good laugh if you do!

A Day at the Ballet

Last Saturday, Min's good friend Rachel came to Washington to dance at the Kennedy Center with the NYC Ballet. Always thoughtful of Margot, Rachel secured tickets to the matinee performance and a tour of the backstage area for Margot. She also invited us to watch class warm-ups before the performance.

For Margot this was truly a dream come true. She adored watching the warm-ups, and was especially enthralled when the pianist played the Indiana Jones theme song for the dancers. [Although, truth be told, she immediately turned to me and said, "You can't dance ballet to this!" I pointed out that yes, apparently you can. Later, the pianist stopped by to say hello to Margot and noted that she tried to play songs Min would recognize and enjoy. By the way, that last pun was fully intended.]

Rachel also gifted Margot with the toe shoes that she wore in Friday evening's performance. Margot was excited at the prospect of dancing in Rachel's shoes (quite literally) and was disappointed when told that she'd have to wait years to dance in toe shoes. [I plan to hang them in her room, out of reach to avoid temptation.]

Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, but they were taken with my phone so are a little blurry.

Adventures in Wyoming

(Margot beneath the elk-horn arch in the town square of Jackson, WY)

After a long, snowless winter, we booked a trip to Jackson, WY, to have a little fun in the snow before (blessed) Spring arrives in a few weeks. Lo and behold, it snowed 6+ inches in DC while we were away. (We can't win.)

The trip was full of ups and downs - literally and figuratively. After all, it was a ski/snowboard vacation. (Go ahead - groan all you want. I recognize that is horrible writing, but it's late and I'm not feeling creative right now. My 9-5 job is draining my brain these days.)

And so here is a summary of the ups and downs of Jackson.

Let's start with a major downer:

This is what a missed flight looks like. For the first (and hopefully only) time in my life, I missed a flight. The plane was still at the gate, but delays in parking, security, and checked baggage brought us to the gate three minutes after they closed the door. The most painful part was that the plane was still sitting there at the gate, but the agent wouldn't let us board. I tried crying but to no avail. The heartless gate agent never raised his eyes from his computer screen.



Things improved, though.

Here's Min on the up and up (groan again, go ahead). She's above 10,000 feet for the first time (well, other than in an airplane):


And here she is learning to ski. The ever-resourceful Brodie fashioned a harness for her and spent over an hour on the bunny hill with the Min (this was in lieu of ski school). She rode the tow rope by herself, and, while it looks as if they are on a flat surface, let me assure you that she did a great job sliding down the bunny hill. Each time she would assume a crouched, Quasimodo-like stance and just slide on down with a huge smile on her face the whole way. By the end, she even did a few turns. I was really amazed at how much she improved over last year.


The ski champ!