I was caught by surprise when a friend of mine (expecting a boy, obviously) e-mailed me and asked if Malachy was circumcised and what led to our decision. Here was my response to her…
Yup, we did, because I was, thought it would be easier in the future in terms of hygiene (though I hear that it’s a myth) and we were confident in the person who performed it. According to our pediatrician, they did a great job. WHEW!!!
It didn’t take too long to heal, but I still remember how heart-wrenching it was to hear Malachy crying/screaming after the procedure, and there was gauze and bandaging for a couple of days, where you have to take care of it, and there was some more crying and screaming. Aiya. By a week’s end, forgotten… whew!
Would we do it if we had to again? I still say, yes… just because…
This feels weird writing it out, but if anyone ever asks again, I could forward this… hehe
This led me to wonder what other parents would recommend, so thus my first survey on Time Out Dad!
We’ve been at Shien’s parents’ house in Illinois for ten days now, and it’s good to get away from the City for a bit. Life is SO different out here! There is so much SPACE here for Malachy to run around. It’s great having a backyard for him to run around and play in, and a golf course to boot… Almost every evening, after eating a delicious dinner prepared by Shien’s mom and Shien, we all go to the golf course. We usually get quite a few mosquito bites, but this summer it’s been so hot that even the mosquitoes are too hot to fly! Shien’s dad and I play 3 or 6 or 9 holes with one club. Malachy will tag along for a couple of holes. Right now, he’s much more in tune with nature than with golf…
It’s great fellowship golfing with Shien’s dad. It’s hard to believe that he introduced me to the game 17 years ago! Golfing used to be in my blood (before Malachy ), and not playing well used to upset me so much. Not anymore. I’ve realized playing calm yields a lot more crisp shots. Just being able to play for an hour after dinner feels really good. Makes it feel a little bit less guilty eating dessert. Lots of great peach pie with ice cream, thanks to Shien and the neighbor’s! (Thanks, Paula!)
Time really slows down out here. Shien’s mom has always allowed us to really take it easy out here (Thanks, Chiou Ma! ) There’s more time for reading and less time watching television for me. I’m really grateful all the times we’ve had out here through the years. After two weeks, though, I’m ready to head back to the City again.
I think many people equate education with school, and there is much to be learned in school. But, an education shouldn’t begin with school. Our children shouldn’t wait until age 4 or 5 or 6 to start learning. An interesting Washington Post article/blog post writes about how our public education system is out of whack beginning at age 5, and yet so many studies emphasize the importance of learning from birth to 8. It might not necessarily mean our kids should start school at 2 or 3. I think it means that we, as parents, have a big responsibility in being our kids’ first teachers. Summertime shouldn’t be a time out from learning. On the contrary!
We had such an incredible experience last weekend in the Poconos with Harriet. (Thanks so much, Harriet! ) We spent about an hour walking in a trail in the woods, and it had a great impact on Malachy. I just finished reading Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Men (an excellent read!), which also stressed how boys (children) learn so much better when they are able to use their five senses.
Thousand Legged Worm... a Millipede! YUCK!
In the woods, Malachy was able to see, hear, touch, feel, and taste! Harriet introduced us to huckleberries, Indian Pipes, and minty wintergreen leaves! Then Malachy found a thousand legged worm… a millipede… EWWWW! He loved being outdoors with nature.
I LOVE flashlights! I have purchased DOZENS of them and have quite an extensive collection at home. Shien told someone that I was a flashlight Connoisseur!
We arrived in the Poconos on Friday evening. We soon learned that we arrived at the perfect time. If we had arrived sooner, we might have gone out in a boat and gotten stuck in a HUGE thunderstorm. If we had arrived later, it would have been MUCH later, because we would have been driving in the storm, and there were road closures and reports of tornadoes!
While we were eating dinner, the storm came down so hard, that the electricity went out, but luckily there was a generator in the house. That kept the electricity running on the first floor. After dinner, while doing the dishes, I noticed that the water pressure was getting lower and lower, and by the time I got to the last few dishes, there was a trickle, and then… NO WATER! Ai ya.
These are the things that this city boy has hardly ever had to dealt with, except for the big Blackout of 2003 in the Northeast, where we did lose all electricity and water for many hours.
I don’t travel often, but when we do, I seems to always pack a flashlight or two or three… On a number of occasions, the flashlights came in handy, so that’s one of the first things I always pack. I might not have enough change of clothes or forget a toothbrush or toothpaste, but NEVER a flashlight!
On this trip, the flashlights were great! Malachy got to see Dad use them in action and might have gotten the sense of why Daddy has SO many flashlights all over. There were candles and all, and I didn’t have to use my own flashlights, but it was definitely cool to have them around, with no electricity and running water. The generator was turned off and there was no electricity on the second floor, anyways, where we slept.
We went to bed with enough packed water to brush up and go to bed. Malachy was wondering about why he wasn’t getting a bath or shower, but he definitely didn’t mind… So, it was lights out really early for all of us!
Last weekend, when we were in Maryland, we got pulled over by a Baltimore police car. Ai ya! Basically, I made a right when I clearly shouldn’t have. GPS put us in a predicament where, if I didn’t make the right, it appeared we would have ended up on a highway, when our hotel was clearly just a few blocks away. I wish GPS had SHOUTED, “DON’T DO IT! THERE ARE POLICE AROUND!” Obviously, telling the officer that the GPS was telling me to make a right didn’t make it right. He replied, “Well, the GPS isn’t going to pay your ticket, is it?” The worst part is are the bright flashing lights from the police car, as you’re pulled over, it seems like everyone driving by seems to be checking you out, wondering what you did…
Lesson learned. Don’t rely too heavily on GPS, and if you wind up going a little farther, just go. Don’t make a dumb turn for the worse, which is what I did. We made a right turn through the train rails. Even though there was clearly no train in site, I guess the speed of them doesn’t guarantee that my judgment would be correct. It was a DUMB risk. On the brighter side, we helped contribute to Maryland’s economy, and, all in all, we had a GREAT time in the city of Baltimore! More about that later. This was the blemish, but it could have been worse…
) There’s more time for reading and less time watching television for me. I’m really grateful all the times we’ve had out here through the years. After two weeks, though, I’m ready to head back to the City again. 
(an excellent read!), which also stressed how boys (children) learn so much better when they are able to use their five senses. 
