Mild Amusement

Recently, the Mild Wife and I were catching up with my sister and our nephews/nieces over a video conference call. I've mentioned this set of calls once before, when the Mild Wife and I inadvertently ended up playing virtual hide-and-seek for two hours . It had been a while since we'd chatted, so we were mostly just catching up and letting each other know how we were doing. As it happens, these calls tend to occur around breakfast time, so it's not uncommon for us to either point to breakfast items or prepare breakfast as it happens. We don't exactly point a webcam at the stove while it's on, but you can definitely point out what's happening. Say we are brewing coffee; that usually means there is a receptacle holding coffee in it nearby. If we happen to be using one that is made of glass, that means that we can point to the coffee inside and describe how it is turning from grounds and water into coffee. It's also easy to serve pancakes or eggs onto a plate a...

It's been forever since we've seen some of our family, because of all of this pandemic business. It sucks, but it's how this year has gone. As much as I'd love to see some of them, we're trying to play it safe and do our part to keep the virus under control. Still, we're thinking of them, so we try to do little things here and there to show them that we love them. In this particular case, we sent some chocolates to our family that lives out of state. It's the holiday season, and we figured some nice treats might be fun for everyone. And since two of those folks are munchkins, we figured that they would especially enjoy the chocolate. Now, we don't have any control over when the shipment arrives. We did pay for shipping to arrive by a certain day, but whether it shows up in the morning, afternoon, or night is up to the delivery company. As it turns out, this particular shipment showed up in the evening, almost near bedtime. So, my sister did the responsib...

One of the toughest things about the pandemic has been that social distancing means precisely that; we're staying away from the people we care about. It's not like we were spending every hour of every day out and about before, but we definitely had dinner with friends or stopped in to see family. That's basically a bad idea these days, so we've stayed indoors instead. Still, it means that we see less of our loved ones. The flip side of that, however, is that we have tried to compensate by making use of technology. We frequently use the webcams so that people can see our faces while we speak with them. Whether it be to dial in to a work conference call, to attend a class, or even to say hello to folks, we've been using the cameras at our disposal on a much more frequent basis. It's not an exact one-for-one replacement, but it definitely helps. One of the areas where this has led to some chuckles has been when talking to my sister and her kids. We've been ...

Have you ever had to help a young child wash his or her hands? It's an adventure. The simple act that many of us take for granted is not yet second-nature to them, so there are all sorts of interesting, and unique, ways in which they do things in sub-optimal ways. An adult, for example, knows that you only really need enough water to get your hands wet. The soap is the star of the show, not the water. Little kids don't know that. They splash the water around like it's going out of style, often times getting the sink, their clothes, and any nearby adults wet in the process. In fact, I have often taken to letting them run their hands under the water for a few seconds, and then turning off the tap. That helps to minimize any potential shenanigans involving the water. They also don't really give the soap the attention it deserves. Again, you're supposed to scrub your hands with the soap, to kill all of the germs that may have attached themselves to your hands along ...

As you can probably tell by the recent titles, Friendsgiving was all sorts of fun. We had juice boxes , and the food got high marks from little kids . You can just imagine how much laughter was involved with all of that. Still, those were mostly funny things that happened on the day of the event. Today's post involves a little bit of fun that won't be going away anytime soon. I mentioned before that one of the munchkins was at the age where she was learning new words. She was quick about learning them, too, often repeating things that she had just heard. I know lots of friends of mine who have kids have warned me that their kids repeat anything and everything, but this was my first time seeing it play out in real time. Sure, I've seen kids at the daycare say things that I was certain came from their parents, but this was the first time I'd seen the action up close and personal. We realized this almost immediately after she repeated the word "juice" a minut...

Last time, I described the thought process behind the beverage selection for Friendsgiving  (there were juice boxes). That led to quite a bit of hilarity around the juice boxes, but the juice was not the only item on the menu that led to some full-on laughter. No, the other food managed to make an impression, too. More importantly, it managed to make an impression on the munchkins that were involved with Friendsgiving. I mentioned last time that one of those munchkins was a precocious fourteen month old. I know it's common for parents to gush about their child's accomplishments and potential, but this particular child impressed both the Mild Wife and me by picking up on words and incorporating them into her vocabulary very quickly. She was clamoring for juice a few minutes after walking in the door, and she'd never even heard the word or had the contents before. Like I said, she was a quick study. The really amusing part, though, came after she tasted the food. While s...

A little while ago, the Mild Wife and I decided to host some friends for a Thanksgiving celebration (a " Friendsgiving ," if you will). We figured we'd play it straight for this particular outing, so we offered to make the turkey. Still, other folks were inevitably going to ask what they should bring, so we let them pick something that reminded them of home cooking. Basically, it was more of an excuse to sit, talk, eat, and be merry than an expectation that they bring their culinary A game . This, however, led to a discussion about what to pair the turkey with. We had lots of options, and everyone loves a good side dish at Thanksgiving. Heck, some people care only for the side dishes. So, we put a bit more thought into what else we were going to make that day. We did ultimately settle on a few items that were a hit (including the infamous cheesecake ), but the bit that really led to some laughter the beverage selection. You see, we had a combination of folks at the p...

Every now and then, the fact that I am not the same age as the people that I spend time with is amusing as all heck. The folks older than me know things that I don't or have life experience that lets them see things in a different way, so they will occasionally poke fun of me. We all have a good laugh about it, and life is better all around. However, my favorite moments are the ones that involve kids. It's basically the same scenario as the first one, only I get to play the part of the older person. Heck, it's why I wrote ten parts to the " Little Kids Are Awesome " series. In this episode, I start with the fact that I once realized that some of the kids for our family friends did not grow up with some of the same video games that I did. I forget how it came up, but somehow or another, the Mild Wife and I realized that the kids of our family friends (also family friends, for the record) had no idea what Street Fighter II was. Now, this is a classic video game. ...

A little while back, we were hanging out with some family friends. As it so happens, we've gotten to the point in life where a lot of our friends have kids, so this particular outing involved some little human beings (side note: this is quite possibly my favorite description of children). In this case, the little human beings involved weren't that little, as they'd already started elementary school. Still, the fact that they were little will become relevant, and hilarious, in a moment. Over the course of the afternoon, we eventually started watching some television. I don't think everyone was watching, but the television set was on, so a few folks were paying attention. I want to say it was set to sports of some sort, but I don't honestly remember. Basically, people were generally involved in conversation with each other, but those that weren't actively speaking had something else to distract them. One such distracted person was one of the smaller humans, an...

There are some games that are timeless. I'm pretty sure that in thirty years, kids will still be playing tag. Sure, they might be doing it in jet packs on some distant moon or something, but they'll still be chasing each other around trying to avoid being "it." It's a simple game, with a simple premise, and at the end of the day, it can be all sorts of fun. Well, I would argue that Connect 4 is also one such game. In case you haven't had the pleasure of playing it before, it's sort of like Tic Tac Toe. You and another player alternate turns, trying to get  four of your pieces in a line before your opponent does. The line can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, so you have options. I remember I enjoyed playing the game as a kid, and it always seemed fun. I didn't always win, but given that I liked playing the game, I must have won enough that the process wasn't onerous. Basically, I have a soft spot in my heart for playing Connect 4. Well, ...

A long time ago, I remember walking by the common area on a floor where I didn't work. It was interesting to see their various artifacts and practices on display, in particular because they didn't necessarily line up with what I was used to with my team. It was like visiting another country, and I was a sightseer that got to visit for a little while. This was a while ago, so I don't really remember the little things. However, I do remember that they had a communal puzzle. The whole thing was set up on a table in full view of the entire team, and I got the impression that people were encouraged to work on it whenever they had a free moment. What's more, there were other completed puzzles in various places, so I could see that this wasn't just a whim. On the one hand, this puzzle thing made total sense to me. I was the one who had an ongoing chess game with my coworker , remember? Spreading the fun around seemed perfectly reasonable. On the other hand, though, ...

So, there is a common idiom in English about going around in circles . It means roughly that you're not really accomplishing anything because you end up at the same spot you started (that's what happens when you traverse a circle). It's a simple enough notion, and the saying rarely needs explaining. It just sort of makes sense. Well, let me tell you, I have reason to disagree. In my case, I don't mean the sort of hypothetical running around in circles, I mean the literal kind. I have literally gone around in circles and found value in the exercise. It's also worth noting that the act wasn't a way of getting exercise, either. No one would dispute that running laps around a track has its own value (even if you're the type who finds that kind of exercise boring, you can understand the logic behind it). However, in my case, it wasn't a way to get exercise. I have different, more amusing, reasons. In the first case, I was sitting around at home, and I s...

I don't spend as much time with the kids at the daycare these days, so the little kid posts have been fewer and farther between. In fact, the last time I wrote one of these was a little over four years ago . As it so happens, many of the kids have been fairly young, so they haven't exactly been good at providing quote-worthy sound bites. However, they are still people, albeit little ones. That means that they have little personalities, little motivations, and do little things. And it's fun as all heck to watch those little people do those things. It's just plain awesome sometimes. In this case, one of the little munchkins is at about the age where he's learning to move around. He's got control of his head, he can sit up, and he's curious. That set of conditions tends to lead to bucking around and jolting in an attempt to get at things in one's general vicinity. After all, you're stable, and you've got things you want to see and touch. Unsur...

Somehow, I got into crocheting a while back . I even got to put my skills to use for my new nephew, since I figured he could use a one-up mushroom beanie . All in all, I'm pretty happy about this turn of events. I get to make people hand-made gifts, and that goes over pretty well. I've also found that it's a half-way decent way to relax and unwind in the evenings. If I've had a rough day at work, I can spend some time thinking about a crochet hook instead. So, yeah, it's been a good thing. That said, it's showed up in other parts of my life, sometimes in surprising ways. For starters, my brother made fun of me. I forget exactly what he said, but it was something to the effect of me being an old lady. I can't say that I was entirely surprised, since I figured someone was bound to poke fun eventually. It just so happened to be him, in this case. Also, it was all in fun, so we both laughed about it. The other thing that came up, however, was at work. So...

Do you remember when I learned to crochet a baby beanie ? I was happy to pick up a new skill, but it almost felt like a parlor trick. I mean, it's not like I was going to start making beanies left and right. Right? Heck, I even finished that blog post with a joking recommendation for people I know to have more babies precisely because I figured it was a one-off type occurrence. Well, the universe has a quirky sense of humor. As it turns out, I now have FOUR close friends and family who are all pregnant. What's more, they are all due around the same time. What are the odds? I can understand four such people being pregnant at the same time, or even being pregnant in the same year (I'm at that age). But four people all due within a month or so of each other? What are the odds? One of those people just so happens to be my sister. She is the first of us siblings to have a kid, so it's an extra special big deal. It wasn't a matter of whether I was going to make her ki...

Since I am around a fair number of munchkins, I am a part of their dealings. I play with them, I read to them, and I teach them stuff. Basically, I am just another part of their world. That's great, but it comes with all of the other trappings of their worlds, too. That involves playing by their rules, and abiding by their justice system, too. Essentially, it's possible for one of them to tell on me . And if I'm just lucky enough, this will happen with more than one kid, on more than one occasion (hint: I am that lucky). Let's start with the part that's my fault: I will occasionally stick out my tongue at one of the little kids. It's all in fun, and it's more like a game than anything else (think Peek-a-boo). In fact, they always laugh about it. It's not a malicious thing, even though we know it's not something you're supposed to do in polite company. Still, it was just one of those things that I do, and everyone has a good laugh about it. Re...

Last time on this Bat-channel , I mentioned that the Mild Girlfriend and I spent some time in Colorado a few weeks back.  We managed to get some fun pictures, though I also managed to scratch up my hand and bang up my knee. Still, our trip was not all about hiking and injuries. No, there was a beanie involved, too. First off, let me start off by explaining that a good friend of mine recently had a son. It was his second son, in fact. Since I've known him for so long, he's met my parents, and they're somewhat fond of him. So, when my mom heard that he was having a kid, she was really happy for him. In fact, she was so happy about this turn of events that she dedicated some time to making the newborn a beanie, baby clothes, and baby booties. Yes, I said "make;" she crocheted all of these things. My buddy and his wife were quite thrilled with the gift(s), and I even heard his wife comment that she wished they still fit the older son at one point. Basically, it wa...

Little kids tend to fall and bump into things quite a bit. It's what happens when you don't quite have control of your body. Heck, there is an entire class of milestones related to these gross motor skills . Put another way, that means that it's an achievement when a baby's body does roughly what the kid intended. So it's no surprise that there are a lot of bumps, bruises, and tears along the way while these kids learn these motor skills. That means that parents and adults around these kids constantly have to find ways to tend to and reassure these same little kids. You have to pick them up, wipe their tears, get them over the shock of the fall/bump, and even clean their wounds on occasion. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of attention to fix a scared toddler. Heck, I've even resorted to distracting a little kid with utter nonsense to make them forget all about the event that led to the tears. Say a kid fell and he's complaining about his knee; I...

I went on vacation to Mexico with some family a short while back. It was a lot of fun, but it also led to all sorts of hilarity. This particular story only tangentially involves me, but it was still all sorts of fun. Due to some scheduling issues, the Mild Girlfriend didn't join us on the trip. The magic of WiFi still let us communicate, but she had work and family obligations. I finally made use of some of the apps on my phone, and we were even able to manage video calls a couple of times. The funniest part was that I often made these calls from the comfort of the hotel room, and my brother and sister-in-law were present for some of them. They would very helpfully add commentary at times; I had my own peanut gallery. Anyhow, on one of those calls, the Mild Girlfriend informed me that she had decided to visit her family, including her nephews. Her nephew was really excited to see her, and he kept asking her to hang out or do things together (little kids like to do that). At on...

At this point, it should come as no surprise when I post a story about kids. Between the daycare stories  and my friends with kids , I have plenty of stories to go around. Throw in the occasional story about younger relatives , and you can understand why a good chunk of my blog is dedicated to stories about people who are a small fraction of my age. Now, I'm no parent, but I've seen enough younger folks to have a rough idea of how things go down. Still, even with that in mind, there are times when one of them manages to surprise me. This was one of those times. Let's start by introducing the protagonist of this story (hint: it's not me). This kid happens to be one of the Mild Girlfriend's nephews, who I only recently met. Like most kids his age, he likes to play with toys and can be easily amused. On the day I met him, we played with trains, plush doggies, and his pop up fort  (his looked different, but you get the basic idea). I was even invited into his for...