Track Day - Supporting Dreams

Weekly track days are back! We took July off because the boys wanted to attend a two week theater camp in Twentynine Palms. Driving back and forth, twice a day to the theater for two week ate up our gas money, so there were no track days. But they had a great time...just realized I didn't post about that!

The last time we were at the track we saw a woman advertising training and I had contacted her and set up a private session for August. We were really looking forward to this day! It was hard to wait a whole month. Then we had to wait another week because the repairs the boys were making took longer and expected.

The day finally came! We have to leave at 6am to get to the track before 8am, so we load the truck the night before. I am not capable (or willing really) to push dirt bikes up ramps, so the boys do all this themselves. They've developed a check list of things to do the day before and double check it before we leave. I'm in charge of washing gear, packing food and water, and keeping everyone on schedule. Oh, and driving!

I realized something this time. When we load the truck back up at the track, there isn't as much battling between the boys. When we load at home, it can get ugly and usually ends with Tom getting snippy and Jake walking off in a huff at the end. It's not positive at all. What's the difference? You'd think after three hours of riding in the heat we'd have more arguments about loading, but it's the opposite. My assessment? I'm not there engaged in what they are doing. They are young and have a real hard time negotiating tact when there isn't someone there to help. At home, I'm off doing other things while they load up. I need to be there more. So that's the plan for next time. They are much better than they were a year ago, but they are still learning so they need the influence of a third party.

This is my contribution...he he he...I'm eating candy they don't like! And reminding them not to forget my shade and chairs.

We arrived early. It was totally worth getting up at dawn and hitting the road. The only traffic we hit was at the big freeway change, so it only took us an hour and a half to get there. It's better to be early than late though, in my opinion. Our trainer arrived right after us though, so we didn't have long to wait. Besides, we got this sweet camp spot!

Our trainer was awesome and worth every penny. The boys loved getting instruction and were eager to show off the skills they had learned from YouTube and watching races on TV. They spent three hours riding and it got pretty hot out there.

Some scary stuff happened too! First of all a very little guy crashed. I hate when the littles get hurt. He just squished his hand though. Later though, when we were packing up to leave, he walked by our camp alone and crying. I went and talked to him and he said he was looking for his Dad. He took me back to his camp and we found it empty. He told me they were riding but he didn't know which track. He wasn't crying about his hand though, he was scared and alone too long. Sheesh. People! After talking with him a bit I found that he was six and from South America. He was there with his Dad, brothers, and cousins. They area all teens and up and they went to ride when he was hurt. I couldn't believe it. Seriously. I sat with him for a bit and he calmed down. I had to get back to my own family and told him he could come get us if he was scared again. He kept coming out of the trailer and waving at me. About 40 minutes later someone showed up. A new friend of ours (parked next to us) walked over with me and told the kid that came to get him that he had been wandering and scared. He was going to bring him over to the track they were at so he could watch them. Ugg. Poor kid.

Another crash I witnessed. It was one of those gasp and jump up moments! He came down from a jump at the same time as another young rider and they hit. He went flying and didn't get up. The best thing about motocross is that when a rider goes down, the other riders immediately stop to help. One gets the bike, one runs back and waves other up coming riders to go around, and another stays with the kid that fell. The track we are at has a person on a quad that comes out to help. I don't know if they are an EMT or just a trained adult, but they tend to the rider and call for help if it's bad. This kid looked pretty hurt. His foot was messed up and he couldn't walk on it. I didn't see up close, so I can't really know how bad it was. 

This got me to thinking. Several times now I've witnessed these kinds of incidents. I want to go help if I can, but I'm not trained in anything at all, just being a Mom. We had a bad crash in the Spring and there just happened to be an EMT riding that day that checked Tom out and eased my mind about whether we should rush to Emergency or not. So. Why don't I get EMT certified? Then I can offer help with confidence. And it will ease my mind when I'm there with my own kids. I'm doing it! 

Finished Reading "Nisei Daughter" by Monica Sone

Last spring we drove up to my Mom's house and stopped in Lone Pine on the way. I've driven by the Manzanar camp a bunch of times but finally got to stop and check it out. I highly recommend it. I picked up this book while I was there. When I stop at a town or visitor center, I like to find an older, or first person, account of what happened there. It's not always easy. This time it was hard to pick just one.

This book was wonderful. I thought it would be terribly depressing but it was not. Most of the book is about her growing up and what it was like being a Japanese child born in the United States. It's something I know nothing about, so her accounts were enlightening. I found myself worrying for her, being angry for her, and outraged that her family WASN'T outraged.



I only have one quote, and it's from the very end. I read it to the boys because I was so touched by it.

"In spite of the war and the mental tortures we went through, I think the Nisei have attained a clearer understanding of America and its way of life, and we have learned to value her more. Her ideas and ideals of democracy are based essentially on religious principles and her very existence depends on the faith and moral responsibilities of each individual. I used to think of the government as a paternal organization. When it failed me, I felt bitter and sullen. Now I know I'm just as responsible as the men in Washington for its actions. Somehow it all makes me feel much more at home in America. All in all, I think the Issei's losses during this war are greater."

She went through a lot of emotional growth and soul searching to get to this place and not all of her friends went in the same direction she did. But I believe she saw something most of us don't. The idea that we control the government is something completely foreign to most of us now. We believe it IS a paternal relationship, that they should care for us like children. I don't think that can work well for long. We all grow up sometime and want our independence. That controlling parent/dependent child relationship always ends in an explosive way. Hopefully we can find a way to some day take back our responsibility in a civil manner.

Finished "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift

This book is on my "Great Books of the Western World" list and I've read it before. I love it for the funny stories and would probably get a lot more out of it if I understood more about 18th century politics, but I'm reading so much that every time I go through these books I get more out of them.

Everyone knows  about Lilliput because of e movies, but he gets stranded on several different islands and meets all kinds of peoples. My favorite is the horse people, Houyhnhnms. My only problem with the whole book is the end because he comes back to England witha good dose of self-loathing and especially cannot tolerate his own people. I thought he was an ass by the end of the book and I was glad I didn't have to go on another adventure with him.

Friends

“I'm not my son's friend, I'm his parent!”

I've heard this several times recently and it makes me cringe. Do so many of us not know what the meaning of the word 'friend' is? Here's what I found when I looked it up on TheFreeDictionary.com.

A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.

A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.

Word History: A friend is a lover, literally. The relationship between Latin amcus "friend" and am "I love" is clear, as is the relationship between Greek philos "friend" and phile "I love."

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter.

3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile.

When I read these I believe I DO want to be my child's friend. Maybe what parents need to do is model what a good friend truly is.

The bible says in Corinthians 13:4-7:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And if “friend” means “to love”, shouldn't that scripture apply to a friend?

I think people are mistaking a friend for what kids typically find in schools. These are not friends, they are acquaintances. People you are forced to associate with in a school or work situation are not necessarily friends. A friend is something completely different.

A friend is someone that encourages and builds you up. When you tell a friend your dreams and goals, they help you achieve it, not squash them with negatives. When you are sad and lonely, a friend takes you out for ice cream and lets you vent your frustration without judging you. He stops you when your sadness or anger gets out of control and starts to hurt others. When you've had a rough day, a friend says “Let's go get a drink and listen to some great music!”, not “Let's get completely wasted and cause trouble.” Most of all a friend makes you be a better you than you would be without them.

I hope and pray every day that my sons see me as a friend and not an authority over them. I hope they find me to someone to confide in, to trust, and to love in return.

Bus!

Look what we bought!

Yes, it's ugly yellow, but that will all change. When Dan and the boys are done with this baby, you won't even recognize it!

And so begins another VW project.

The old sun roof comes off.

The boys want to make it into a safari vehicle!

Most likely it will become a small camper. Dan wants to remodel the inside so that we can use it to travel the country when the boys grow up and start their own lives. It might just take that long!

California Science Center

A great day was had last week and I'm finally getting around to writing about it. I had made plans with my brother and his family for dinner and I figured we could go down early and find something indoors and cool to do. I'm so glad we remembered the science center! My friend Liz was in town with her son as well, so we met her there for some lunch and visiting. 

We left our house just before 8am and made really good time. The only traffic we hit was on the 101, arriving at 10:30. We checked out the gift shop because I always get a postcard when we visit a place and I wanted to find something cool to bring my littlest nephew.

When my friend arrived, we got tickets to see the space shuttle. I was happy about that because the website made it seem like you had to get reservations in advance, but apparently that's only on weekends. Liz and I were commenting on the employees lack of explaining where the exhibit was. There is a special entrance since you have to pay extra to see it and it isn't very clear where you are supposed to go. At first we ended up in the ecosystems room and thought we made a mistake, then we found it. The boys spent a lot of time reading the signs. I, personally, just wanted to see the space shuttle! It was huge! I can't imagine what the launch of that thing was like.

Liz and I talked, catching up, more than looked at the displays. It was fun watching Tom explain something to her son about the space shuttle. Tom was thrilled to have a willing audience and Jake was happy to not be the recipient for a change.

We got some lunch after that and then they had to go. We didn't get enough time, but it was pretty good of an impromptu meet-up. 

The boys and I had three more hours to spend and both the boys wanted to go to the physics side next. I wanted to spend time in the ecosystems part since we'd never seen it before. We did that first and really liked it. Some of the hands-on stuff was broken, butt here was still plenty to see and do. The desert part made Jake sad because they had a couple roadrunners in a display that looked very scared. We really enjoyed the polar room because they have a nice wall. I need one of those at home! Both the boys spent a lot of time at the heat video camera thing, experimenting with how to heat things up and then running back and forth to the polar room to cool them off again.

The physics part of the museum was a little disappointing. None of it has changed in years and there were few hands-on things that still worked. It looks like a war zone. One of the employees asked if we were having a good time and I said we loved it here, but it's pretty run down. She said that there are a lot of kids groups going through and things get broken. That's really no excuse for the condition it was in. The point is to have things for kids to discover science concepts with. That's what they get money for, probably a lot of grants since it's mostly free to the public. But if none of the experiments work, what's the point of parading these kids through? They'd be better off at a nice park really. This stuff wasn't recently broken either. It's the same stuff I took the boys to see eight years ago and it was getting haggard then, now it's completely gone or just sitting there in pieces.

Honestly though, even if all of it worked it's not helping these groups that come through. They are paraded through, quite literally, and given a few seconds each at each display. They either follow the directions and see what it does and move on, or hammer at it a minute and move on. There is no experimenting or discovery. The most they get is a day away from the classroom, or they enjoy what they do see and get their parents to bring them back another time. I've always loved getting there in the early afternoon, after the groups have left, and letting the boys play with things. They usually spend a lot of time in one area but I have to be nearby to answer questions or get them to move away for a bit and let someone else try. Not anymore though, now they are helping other kids and trying to explain what's going on. That's really fun to watch!

Anyway, we had a boat load of fun and I found a legitimate reason to have a smart phone. Many times throughout the day, we found ourselves needing answers and if we had a smart phone, we could have got them. Yes, we could write a note and look it up later, but then the moment is gone. The whole idea of the way we are educating our kids is to learn things in the moment they come up and we're all interested. Taking a second to look up an answer is ideal because we have the info and are better for it. It may lead to more discovery right then, or it may lead to finding more in depth information later, but the ball isn't dropped. I lived without one for two months and have done fine, but the smart phone is just too useful not to have around, like living without electricity.

We drove down the freeway to have dinner with my brother and his family and on the way, Tom sees the sign for Watts Towers and wants to drive by it...um...no. Call me crazy. 

Dinner was great fun. We love having "quality" time with them. We've made it a point to come once a month, so that we see each other more than just at birthday parties and I think we are all much closer because of it. It's a good chance to talk and really get to know each other. 

A quick stop at Target (wow) and we were on our way home. It was almost 10pm and we were exhausted, but it was worth it. No pictures though. I got a few before my camera died but now I can't get them off until I get my real computer back...rearrangement of furniture has us without a place to set it up yet. I'll add them later!

Finished "the Life of Greece" by Will Durant

It's Volume II of "The Story of Civilization". Yes. I read history books for fun. It's not an assignment, unless you consider by goal of understanding history better before I die an assignment by myself!

I love these books! I was only a few more pages to the end, so I've delayed dinner to finish it and then write this. I sighed, nearly in tears, at the end. It's lines like this that make me love these books.

"Civilization does not die, it migrates; it changes its habitat and its dress, but it lives on. The decay of one civilization, as of one individual, makes room for the growth of another; life shed the old skin, and surprises death with fresh youth."

Ancient Greece! Who knew we have so much in common with a civilization so far away in time? It's amazing. History brings me closer to the world and makes me feel more connected to everyone in it.

I'm not going to recap all of Ancient Greece. I'd be hear for days! But here are few bits that made me smile.

Speaking of Homeric Greeks. "Wealth is computed realistically in goods, especially cattle, rather than in piece of metal or paper that may lose or alter their value at any moment through a change in the economic theology of men." Economic Theology. How do you like that? That's exactly what it is. I really think economics relies way too much on theory, trust, and whims, to be called a science. It IS a theology.

And another from that time, "The individual members of the family change with time, but the family is the lasting unit, surviving perhaps for centuries, and forging in the turbulent crucible of the home the order and character without which all government is in vain." Is this something we will find to be true again?

Here's a good one. "To him, (Socrates) as well as to Protagoras and Euripides, praisers of the past like Aristophanes attributed the irreligion of the age, the disrespect of the young for the old, the loosened morals of the educated classes, and the disorderly individualism that was consuming Athenian life." So it's not a new thing?

And, "He (Aristophanes) agreed with Socrates that the sovereignty of the people had become the sovereignty of politicians; but he was convinced that the skepticism of Socrates, Anaxagoras, and the Sophists had helped to loosen those moral bonds which had once made for social order and personal integrity."

I can't really sit here and write out all the parts that I highlighted, noted, or giggled at. There is something on almost every page! But this is my take away. So many times I've heard people (mostly intellectual authority) say that ancient history is irrelevant in these modern times, but the more I read, the more I completely disagree. Humanity will always be the same. The technology may change, but the underlying thing through all of time is our humanity. It is what binds us all and is something we can always use.