Big Kids at the Children's Museum

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is said to be the largest in the world.  With a planetarium, a five story blown glass sculpture, a full scale working carousel and lots of hands on activities, it is interesting for adults to visit too, so on the first Thursday evening of the month when admission is free, my oldest son and a friend and I decided to go.  They had a new Hot Wheels exhibit, and our friend had never been.  It’s always crowded on free night, but without the little kids along, it wasn’t a problem.

After crossing on the skywalk from the parking garage, we were confronted with a giant transformer in a Halloween costume.  We passed him and made our way through the lobby and checked the time on the two story high water clock.  We debated how much it would cost to buy Indiana Jones’ fedora on our way through the archeology exhibit - I love the fact that they have actual artifacts that are being cleaned like the cannon in the electrolysis tank or the Ming dynasty china a conservator was trying to piece together.  They also have bones in the dinosaur exhibit that are being painstakingly removed from their casts and surrounding matrix.  

We saw real cars that had been models for Hot Wheels, and working full size cars that had been made using the toy cars as models!  Of course there were plenty of Hot Wheels and track for the kids to play with!

But the thing that was most interesting to me this time was the modern Egypt area.  Having several online friends from Egypt gave me a different perspective.  I wondered what they would think of the interpretation of their culture.  I can’t imagine trying to condense American culture to one exhibit, even as large as this one was.  And of course the artifacts and explanations and even the demonstrations of singing and dancing can only give a glimpse of the external differences.

As I have gotten to know some Egyptians and count them as friends, the thing that strikes me again and again is how much the same we are - how similar our situations, and how we feel the same stresses and joys, the same fears and hopes, and need the same friendship and encouragement.  I find myself wishing the children could have what I have - the chance to have a friend from another part of the world.  

Because now when I see the Egyptian exhibit, its not about a strange exotic place, its about the place where my friends live, and somehow, that makes it my place too.

Perpetual motion fox!

This was Tamaki a few months ago soon after we brought him home.  As you can see, it was difficult to take a video of him because he never stopped moving!  Oh, and the fence didn't work for more than a couple of weeks before he figured out how to climb over it.  Now there is pretty much no way to keep him out of anything - if he can't jump to it, he can climb it!  But its just one more layer of chaos at our house!  Welcome to the zoo!

Letting go?

Well, getting here was starting to feel like an ordeal, but we finally made it.  After a busy week helping a friend paint almost her whole house, a wedding, a car that refused to be fixed, a flat tire, struggles with the bike rack, keys locked in the van and having to borrow a vehicle, we are actually camping.

It’s quiet now, the two little guys went out like a light once I was finally able to get them in bed.  The rest of the family is over at our friends’ campfire, but I am glad to have a minute to myself, with just the noise of the crickets and some muffled laughter from the campfires nearby.  I’m drinking tea from a mug with jack-o-lantern on it and eating a blueberry scone.  It has rained off and on all day, but not enough to keep us from enjoying a shrimp boil with our friends or visiting around the fire.

Dreams and Wild Things

There is a fox in my kitchen.  Wild, inquisitive eyes are looking at me.
A slender sensitive nose is sniffing unseen trails across the floor.  A long limbed, sharp clawed, streak of lightening is racing across the room, scrambling up hampers of dirty clothes in the laundry room.  He is Tamaki, the fulfillment of a dream my daughter has had for many years.

My oldest daughter Kay has loved foxes since she was a little girl.  She did a report on the gray fox in second grade.  She saved her birthday gifts and lawn mowing money.  She found a breeder a few hours away.  She figured out how to apply for a license from the state.  And finally in June she went to pick up her new little rascal!  For the first week she had to feed him formula from a bottle every eight hours.  That wasn’t easy since he was much more interested in running around than eating most of the time!  He made the transition to solid food easily though, much to Kay’s relief.  He also learned to use the cat’s litter box, with only a few accidents.  I’m not sure what Sabre thinks about a fox sharing his litter box, but he doesn't seem to object.  

Cross Language Barriers

You can cross language barriers, cross the border, cross the line, go cross country, cross over to the other side, get caught in the cross-fire, have someone in the cross hairs, cross your fingers, cross that bridge when you come to it,cross your heart, be at cross purposes with someone, be cross with someone, or cross cultures.  But what is a cross connection?  Dictionary.com defines cross connection as “an intersection of two or more separate things, typically parts of different networks, circuits, or systems.”  As part of a water system, cross connection is a source of possible contamination.  In circuitry it seems to perform a function that is valuable but incomprehensible to normal human beings.  But in life, I think it is one of the most enriching concepts you can put into practice!  Let me demonstrate that in just a few areas of interest to me.