Wave your banner

I meant to post on Veteran's Day. I love holidays that help me remember to be thankful. I actually almost started to cry when we were walking to the park last Friday and there were all of these flags billowing in front of houses in our neighborhood. Once in college I started weeping during my 20th century British history class. The professor, a natty, bow-tie wearing, white handlebar mustache sporting fellow named, fantastically, R.J.Q. Adams, was talking about how an entire generation of young British men was lost to World War I. And how all of these young women never married because of it. He then went on to celebrate what winning the war had meant for the world. Powerful stuff, but still a little weird to cry in a British history class.

Harper likes sitting in the Bumbo seat to eat raisins. Hudson has learned how to hoist his small body right out of the Bumbo seat. There is a recall on the Bumbo seat because apparently, the instructions on the back explaining how to use it safely are not big enough for some people. Once babies can hoist, don't leave them in it folks. Until they are almost 2 1/2 and like to sit in it to eat their raisins.

I've been reading some interesting blogs about parenting. Something I need to work on: following direct orders with "Okay?" Example: "Harper, after you finish lunch, we're going to use the potty and take a nap, OKAY?" It's as though I'm asking her permission or giving her a choice in the matter, which I am decidedly not. I remember learning in a linguistics class that in Japanese, there are lots of words used to avoid being direct. Because deference is considered a cultural norm. I think my teacher even said that when someone asks what time it is, you say, "It's about 2:15," even if it is exactly 2:15. I think that's interesting. I tend to be indirect because it seems more polite and I like to avoid all appearance of conflict. But I want Harper to obey me the first time I ask her to do something, and I don't want her to think I am uncertain about what I am telling her to do. So, I'm going to be mindful. Okay?