Who cares what they think?

Jordan still sucks his thumb a fair amount. We remind him constantly not to (citing teeth, hygiene, etc) but it's still quite a habit. The other day, he was doing it while watching some third-grade boys play soccer, and I kept whispering to him not to but he kept forgetting, or not caring, or whatever. On the way home in the car, we had this exchange:

Rachel: Hey Jordan, I think you should really work harder on not sucking your thumb. Not only is it bad for your teeth and it gets germs in your mouth, but other kids might think it's babyish.
Jordan: Nobody said they think it is babyish.
Rachel: Well, they might be thinking it but not saying it.
Jordan: If they don't say it to me, I don't care.

I was pretty much stopped in my tracks by that statement. Shouldn't we all care a lot less about what negative things people might think of us, as long as they keep it to themselves?

* * *

UPDATE:  After thinking about it some more, I'm not feeling that Jordan's response is really based in an idealistic self-determination; I think it's more a case of not wanting to admit he's doing anything wrong or undesirable, and not wanting to be told what to do.  these are things we're seeing a lot of in other contexts.

I pick this many every other day

And it's August!

(Full credit to Dale, who does all the gardening.  I am just harvesting while he's out of town.)

What about bad guys?

A nine-foot, four-ton Buddha carved from a single block of jade is on exhibit at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in south Seattle. There was a picture in the newspaper; Jordan noticed at breakfast.

J: Who is this lady?
R: That’s actually a man, a statue of a man named Gautama Buddha.
J: Who is he?
R: He was a very special man, very calm and kind and with good ideas. So people make beautiful statues to help remember him.
J: What was his idea?
R: He had a lot of them, but one of his good ideas was that we are all connected to each other. Everyone matters to everyone else.
J: What about bad guys? And strangers?

I thought – wow, way to go straight to the heart of the matter, you know? I admire that.

I’m sure I did not give the best possible distillation of Buddhism, and I’m pretty sure Jordan did not find my response about bad guys and strangers particularly convincing (that people who do bad things are originally good people who get angry or troubled, and that strangers might be friends of friends of ours). I just liked what Jordan said.

The part that is here

I was reading about how people are praying for Christopher Hitchens.  He is not offended by their prayers, he says; he charitably assumes they are praying for his recovery.  On the possibility that he would make a belated confession of faith, he says “no one recognizable as [him] would ever make such a remark.”  I was reading the newspaper while the boys and I were eating strawberries, so I asked them about it.

Rachel: Here’s a guy, his name is Christopher, and he’s very sick and he is probably going to die soon so people are thinking about him and thinking about what happens after you die.  What do you think happens after you die?
Jordan: You fade into the earth.
Rachel: Do you think there is any part of you that is still here?
Jordan: Probably some small parts.
[I love that.]
Rachel: Some people think there is a part of you that stays alive after you die, a special part that you can’t see called the soul.  Some people think that that part stays around and visits, kind of like a ghost. 
Jordan: Is it good?
Rachel:  Usually, yes.  Other people think it goes somewhere else, called heaven.  Other people think there is not a part like that and after you die, you are gone.  What do you think?
Jordan: I think that my idea is right.  That you fade into the earth.
Rachel:  Do you think there is some part of Nana that is still here?
Jordan:  I think there is a part of her that is here that makes us remember her and give up for her.  I am not positively sure.
[I love that too.]
Rachel:  I miss Nana. 
Jordan:  She loved us even though all she could really do is watch us.
Rachel:  When I was a kid I used to go to her house for sleepovers, and she would make macaroni and cheese for me.  She made the best macaroni and cheese ever.
Aaron: When I grow up, I would like to be a special god, so that I can help people out when they are dead.

Time For Underpants

In the middle of last week Aaron declared that it was Time For Underpants.  We had hoped for this moment to arrive around now, and Aaron has been doing a terrific job.  It takes a lot of practice, but he has a good model.

Today, while sitting patiently on the potty, Aaron looked at me thoughtfully and said,

"Pee is mostly water.  And poop is mostly .... poop."

I had been wondering how he would finish that sentence.  What is poop, mostly?  Wikipedia is unhelpful on this one, although I did learn that the "distinctive odor" is due to bacterial action.  While I was musing, I became aware that Dale and Jordan, back in the bedroom, were having a biological conversation:  Jordan had asked Dale how the vitamins from your food get into your cells.  Quite a question, really.  Dale, much better equipped to answer than I would have been, explained it with an analogy to gas exchange through a balloon full of helium.  Did you know that?

While I am posting embarrassing pictures of the children, I may as well include these:

Camping at Mt. Rainier

We spent last weekend at Mt. Rainier, our first time tent camping with the boys.  It was great!  The one-nighter was an excellent starting point... you don't need a ton of gear, the food can just be done ahead of time and kept in a cooler, and there's not much a person can't put up with for 24 hours so it's a harmless way to learn your needs.  Mt. Rainier is gorgeous and only about two hours from home.  We had a wonderful campsite next to a stream bridged by multiple fallen trees.  Jordan took up logwalking.

I found it somewhat terrifying to watch, but he loved it and was doing great, so I just ... didn't watch.  Instead I looked at the deliciously green surroundings.  I love the temperate rainforest.

Aaron, mercifully, preferred to sit on the bank and make mud towers.  It's glacial-silty stuff, excellent for drippy building.

In between logwalking and tower-building, there were hikes and "picnics" (which I would have just called "eating," since we didn't have an indoor option, but the boys liked picnics better).  Note presence of dog:  He rode down with us in the Camry, on the passenger seat floor.  Actually it was fine.

Doctor visits

Jordan and Aaron both had pediatrician visits this week.  No shots!  That's all they need to know.  The rest is fun.  Aaron, who was terrified of the doctor's office the last time we were there, had no trouble this time. He didn't want to lie down on the paper-covered table, but he liked the doctor's suggestion that he stand up on it, instead.  He was very entertained when the doctor pretended to look for mosquitoes in his ears.

Jordan, who went the next day, discussed nutrition at length, explaining that he knows green foods have lots of vitamins so he tries to eat a little bit even though they're not his favorite, and that he does like broccoli, and kale if he's eating it right in the garden.  Jordan is 47.5 lbs and 47.5 inches, a meaningless coincidence which is common for six-year-olds.  This makes him tall and thin.  He asked how the blood pressure cuff works:  the doctor gave such an age-appropriate-yet-sophisticated explanation, I was bowled over.  Now I bet Jordan understands it better than I do.

He also went to the ophthalmologist for a checkup.  All is well; we keep patching him for at least another three months, though, because they like to see things stay stable for some time before they ramp it down. Here he is doing a test for stereoscopic vision, which can be impaired in kids with amblyopia if the eyes go out of alignment.  The tech is one we've seen several times and she's terrific; she really makes it fun, which means she gets terrific compliance and thus accurate results.  She says Jordan is an excellent patient.