Filed under: Activities, Family, Kids, Sport | Tags: baseball, little league, waikahala
3 for 3. 3 RBI. The kid’s a natural. I guess I should come clean with the knowledge that there are no outs in the Shetland League. The last batter of each inning hits a grand slam every time. I think Taiyo’s enjoying the game, though. Even if he keeps complaining about how hot the uniforms are in Hawaii weather.
Filed under: Hawaii, Kids, Politics | Tags: education, fail, furlough fridays, Hawaii, jack johnson, lingle
It’s been over a month now since the state government, the education bureaucrats and the teachers union reached an agreement that will no doubt go down in the record books as one of the most wrong-headed decisions the state has ever made, an agreement of Swiftian proportions: Furlough Fridays.
A lawsuit, a scathing open letter from the Secretary of Education, a NY Times op-ed, a parent protest on the capitol steps – not one of these has made much of an impact on a governing body indifferent to the plight of 130,000 public school children in a state that ranks near the bottom of the nation in education.
We were there at the protest, which turned out to be an impromptu Jack Johnson concert masquerading as a protest. Jack deigns the South Shore with a few hits from the catalog, steps off stage, and what do you think happens? That’s right. The hundreds of “outraged citizens” dwindle to a handful. 130,000 affected students, and yet the organizers are only able to collect a couple thousand signatories for the petition. In spite of this, the mothers who organized the event deserve some kind of Nobel Prize for their efforts.
And now, in a new and strange twist, the Advertiser is reporting that Lingle has actually had the money to put a stop to the furloughs all along. Much like Dorothy and her ruby slippers. Will wonders never cease!
On a more positive note, our son Taiyo received a “Mindful Student” Award for the first quarter of classes, the highest award given at Waikiki Elementary. Although it is comforting that he seems to be doing well, it’s all relative to the more alarming fact that he seems to be off from school more often than in the classroom.
On August 28 Taiyo reached the big oh-five. We celebrated with a big old beach barbecue at Kaimana. Unfortunately between grill and lifeguard duty, I was unable to get behind the camera. I really need to work on my multi-tasking. Can I use my maleness as an excuse?
On a side note, we had an illustrative confrontation prior to the party. Mizuho had heard from her friends that it would be better to obtain a permit for our party from the Public Parks Authority. We did, and made the (apparently false) assumption that this then entitled us to “land rights”. When we presented our permit to a gentleman who had set up in the area we were hoping to use, he looked at us like we were batshit insane and claimed to have never heard of anybody getting a permit for holding an event, folded his arms, and refused to budge, having staked out his ground hours earlier. When we mentioned our story to people at the party, many were able to relate similar experiences. Another culture lesson learned!
Filed under: Activities, Family, Hawaii, Kids, Sport | Tags: AYSO, goal, soccer dad
I have officially joined the “soccer dad” demographic. Today was Taiyo’s first game in the AYSO five-year old league. Unfortunately the other team had one of those kids with two older brothers who play soccer, so he shredded Taiyo’s team’s defense like lettuce. However, I am proud to report that Taiyo represented with two goals of his own. It just so happened that one of those was in his own net…
It’s been long overdue. Kyle is finally making definitive strides toward a mobile future. It is a relief and a pleasure. He’s not quite walking on his own, but it is only a matter of time now.
Taiyo’s been off training wheels for a few months now, but it was only recently that I was able to get him on camera. The process of getting him to take off on two wheels is a great metaphor for parenting. At first, I was running with him, gripping the back of his seat to keep him steady. But after a few runs I realized that my controlling grip was actually making him more unsteady. That’s when I realized, you just have to let go… And then, he started to ride, nice and smooth.
Filed under: Activities, Events, Family, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kids | Tags: iolani fair, rusting tilt-a-whirls
We were able to escape the human cattle pasture that is Punahou Fair, but with not much happening on a Saturday afternoon, we decided to hit Iolani Fair and find out what these school-sponsored fundraisers were all about. Now that I’ve survived the experience, I can share it with you: rusting tilt-a-whirls, half the inflatable slide/bouncing castles on the island, and raising funds, lots of funds. I guess the kids enjoyed it, but we left considerably lighter of pocket and weary of mind.
Filed under: Activities, Family, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kids | Tags: comfortable shoes, discovery center
Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center. You can’t go wrong (assuming your kids are in the 3-8 age range). Enough themed play areas to keep them occupied for half a day. Wear comfortable shoes.
Filed under: Down Syndrome, Hawaii, Kids, Random | Tags: medicaid, ohana, sucks
Since we are not independently wealthy, and the health care plan offered by my company is a little shall-we-say rich for our blood, we signed up Kyle for Medicaid, since his DS status allows him to qualify. Once signed up, we received some poorly crafted communications from the program informing us we had to select a provider – yes, even Medicaid is outsourced (maybe that’s the problem?). Once we figured out what we were supposed to do, we signed him up for Ohana, which seemed the less dodgy of the two options.
After a couple routine visits to our primary pediatrician, we were summarily informed that we would need to find another provider, as it seems Ohana has not been paying their bills. Of course, the wonderful helpful folk at Ohana – very friendly and composed they are – could neither confirm nor deny such reports. I guess you get what you pay for. And, if you are a tax-paying American sap, that means precious little. What a country!
This week we met with our therapist and coordinator to talk about Kyle’s progress. It was not all rosy news. Although he hit most of the objectives we had set, it is hard for us to feel satisfied with the level of progress we are seeing. He’s already a year behind in walking, and there are so many cognitive delays it’s hard to know where to begin. While we definitely celebrate and take joy in any and every accomplishment he makes, it is often offset by frustration at the slow pace and setbacks in progress. It is hard to know how much is a result of his innate character, and how much is dependent on our ability to teach and encourage. Am I doing enough for him?
