My Kids Are Embarrassed ...

Of ME!

I'm starting to hear rebuke from my children that I am treating them like little children.  Sometimes, I will put my arm around Simone's shoulder and, if she is in disagreement with me about whatever topic, she contorts her body to evade my touch.  One might think she is dancing, but nay ... she is rejecting my affection.

Max has now prohibited me from kissing the back of his hand.  It used to be my way of saying I love you as we walked hand in hand down the street.  But now he finds it humiliating.

I guess it's time that this dismissal of my maternal endearment surface.  My nephew Brandon was 8-years-old when he told his grandfather that he did not want a hug goodbye at the school drop-off zone.

When the kids were younger and more attached to me, other parents would warn me to cherish those times of bonding before they got much older.  At the time, it felt more like bondage.

It might be that I'm stubborn and proud, but I don't feel that much of a loss.  Be free, wild children!  Spread your wings and fly the coop!

Return to the City

For the past 3 years, we have been living in a bus in different campgrounds in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Although living in a small space has its challenges, the benefits of living in a semi-rural setting abound.

Alameda is not a bustling city, but it is a different from what we have experience the past three years.  When we arrived in Oakland, CA, after a day of traveling from Baltimore, MD,  I immediately felt the differences between settings.

• The roads in Northern California are narrow compared to those in Florida, DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV).  What astounds me is that lane-splitting is allowed in this skinny environment.
• Vehicles are shorter in NorCal.  But that's because less people buy trucks and SUVs.  I don't know which came first, the narrow roads or the repulsion of large vehicles.
• Even small towns are too noisy.  But this might be because we had gotten used to the silence of campgrounds.  Vehicular traffic is scarce and is also slow paced.  There is not much rumbling in the evening nor in the day.  The air is punctuated more by frogs, cicadas, and birds.  After 3-1/2 weeks however, I have acclimated to the hum of passing cars and barely notice it.  
• The high density is almost claustrophobic.  I had forgotten how imposing 3'-0" wide setbacks felt.  Although I prefer the architecture on the West Coast, the proximity to neighbors is disconcerting.  
• The change in temperature during the day is drastic.  Even though the winters in the DMV could dip to bitter lows, you could dress for the day in one outfit and be prepared for the weather until sundown.  Here in NorCal, the must of layered clothing is no joke.  A T-shirt and shorts kind of morning can turn into a furry-hooded jacket and long johns kind of afternoon.

This last difference has nothing to do with environment, but it is a markedly stark difference between East and West Coast.  The music is of much higher quality in Northern California.  In the DMV, DJs just play one song after another.  In all of California, DJs must exercise their expertise in transitioning to the next song.  They do not just announce the title and singer of the upcoming title.  They must blend the tempo!  I love it!

The Circle of Perspective

We left Alameda, CA,  in May of 2012.  The kids and I have returned almost 5 years later in April 2017.  My feelings towards the San Francisco Bay Area are completely different than they were when we left.

2012:  I was so sick of this little island of Alameda.  I was tired of liberalism.  I had been exposed to it and believed in it for nearly two decades.  I had lived in California all my life.  Political Correctedness was all I knew.  California folk were all I knew and I was bored.  I wanted to explore the other parts of the country.

Although I lived in metropolitan cities most of my life, I felt like a naive country bumpkin.  I didn't know diversity in that everyone in Northern California had the same ideals.  I remember in 2008, walking through a street festival, two old white ladies sat at a humble table with a banner that promoted the Republican Party.  I thought to myself, "The balls on these two!"  For them to quietly, but overtly show their conservative support amazed me.  I felt like the pussy, never venturing out of a comfort zone.

Michael got orders to go to a new duty station in Tampa, Florida, and I was so excited to leave the West Coast.  I was finally going to see conservatives on their turf and see what it was like to be a true minority.  Yes, I'm a Pacific Islander and considered a minority in America.  A Filipino in California, however, is in the majority.  I couldn't wait to see rednecks and observe how they act.  I was braving uncharted-to-me territories.  I was really traveling.

2014: I was sick of Florida.  What I had not accounted for in seeing Conservative lands is the lack of excitement for new things.  The selection of organic produce and products is scarce.  Their museums did not have controversial exhibits nor were they interactive enough for children.

The Latin cuisine was uneventful.  I had heard about Cuban sandwiches and loved the Cuban restaurant Versailles in Los Angeles.  Their specialty was a roasted garlic chicken.  I thought that being closer to Cuban culture would wow me and give me the thrill of experiencing exotic cultures.  It felt anything but exotic.  A Cuban sandwich feels like any other toasted deli meat-filled sandwich.  One exciting discovery, however, was their version of empanadas.  With a thinner and fried crust, it surpasses the baked, doughful ones from the Filipino American bakeries.

I also was sick of being bitten by mosquitos and no-see-ums.

The allure of observing Republicans in the wild lost its lustre in the first half-year.  You pretty much get the idea when they open their mouths and spew thoughts.  They're not dumb; just different but not complexly so.  And the same could be said of liberals - they're not complexly different than the conservatives.

Michael now got orders to Washington, D.C.  and the promise of quality museums sat on the horizon.  There was bound to be more diversity and maybe a different kind of conservative to observe.  There might even be pockets of liberals that I could identify with.

2017:  I finally came to terms with the fact that I'm a Hippie at Heart.  There's no denying it.  I love organic products, recycling, podcasts, and unplugged children.  I also do not appreciate frigid temperatures.  Virginia, Maryland, and DC, have the terrible combination of cold winters and humid summers with mosquitoes.  April and September are the only two months in which the weather is perfect.  The other ten months are as miserable as being sick with a fever during a 3-hour architectural history final in an air-conditioned auditorium.

The museums were alright.  The only one that we frequented regularly was the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum.  The American Indian Museum was cool also, but its highlight was their cafeteria.  There were living history museums / farms, but the kids were not interested in visiting every one because they were so similar to one another.  Places and parks were also faaaar away from one another.  When I think of DC, I think of lots of driving.  Poor Michael thinks of lots of driving in traffic.

Michael's recent orders sent us back to Alameda.  And I am basking in the temperate weather and the plethora of things to do and learn here.  It has only been 3-1/2 weeks since we arrived and we may be bathing in the honeymoon phase.  We see how long our enthusiasm lasts.  I have a feeling it might last a while.

s

We Have A Nerdy Mother

Yesterday Max said ...

"You're a nerd, Mommy.  You're smart and you're not even embarrassed about it"

I take that as a compliment!