happy holiday

a tribute to the holiday greetings amid the pandemic (very amateur cell phone photo with unicorn onesies in our backyard)

Happy Holidays

What a year! Truly, what a year!

Covid has dominated our lives this year (along with the presidential election). We have been on "quarantine" since March. It has been inconvenient but we have adapted to the new normal - working from home, distance learning, online grocery shopping, home-cooking, Zoom, disinfecting "everything", road trips to the local attractions and the list goes on. 

We each have selected what we deem that have helped us survive this abnormal time - booze, rolling pin, spray (alcohol) and book as a tribute to this year's holiday greeting. We all have taken on new skills, hobbies or habits amid the pandemic and perhaps discovered a few new things about ourselves and one another. It has been forever since we saw our friends aboard. Yet, we feel much closer than ever since we are literally "in the same boat" and our daily routines cannot be more similar. 

We are grateful. Grateful that we are safe and healthy. Grateful our families and friends are well. Grateful that we have work and school that keep us busy and productive. Grateful that we can still wake up in the morning and find little things in our lives that spark joy. 

2020 is going down as a memorable year that one wants to forget but we are hopeful. Hopeful that we will get to see you and hang out with you next year. Hopefully that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We wish you all a safe and happy holiday with a bright and hopeful 2021. 

Love, 

Sharon, Fernando, Erik and Anya

I am grateful for...

 A is able to elaborate the gratitude much better than I can...

facts and opinions

(dated November 3, 2020)

A has to do this Facts & Opinion videos on FlipGrid (the tool that most schools have been using for online learning for presentation). Apparently this is built in the 2nd grade curriculum to teach kids how to identify the difference between facts and opinions. Such a simple exercise yet it is the foundation of critical thinking. I could not stop wondering if we all exercise the 2nd-grade facts and opinions exercise perhaps we would have so much less gullible people believing in fake news such that climate change is a hoax and covid is conspiracy?

If I ran for president

(dated October 30, 2020) 

This is the topic for the whole past months and finally the date is near. Personally, I'd vote for this guy if he ran for president. And yes, no homework! 😂😂😂

Badass Ninja

 

One of the activities we decided to sign A up during the pandemic is TKD. Think it would do her some good in term of learning discipline, respect and focus. Today is her first belt test (or dance test) as she’s been referring poomsae as “dance”. So the little badass Ninja has completed the “white dance” and moving on to the “purple dance”. “Aiya!”

Weechef, Digitalization, Dilemma?

He's beat me to it! 

Being an enthusiastic wee chef, Ninja made a few “how to” videos of his favourite dishes over the summer. He asked me numerous times if he could start a YouTube channel and publish these videos. I told him that it was such a great idea but he might want to give the videos some “beautification” before publishing and perhaps have at least 5-10 videos before making them public as no one would subscribe to a channel with just 1 video. I didn’t know that he was secretly working on those videos until I walked over to his room today and overheard, “Yes! It worked. I published it!” 

So he had just published his first food YouTube video. I felt somewhat unsettled. I have been “purposely” (try to manipulate his decision) postponing the “publishing” by telling him that he should probably have more videos before making it public to make his channel more attractive. Mainly coming from being a mom, because I feel unease about him going “public”. He is only 9. It is too early to have him open up to the world? Or I am just overreacting or overprotecting. 

I knew that this was going to come sooner or later. But I didn’t’ expect it that soon. So it is already here. Sooner than I expected. Thanks to Covid, I would say. Instead of globalization, the world certainly has sped up towards digitalization, including my kids. 

It’s probably time for me to watch Social Dilemma (this Netflix documentary-drama exploring the dangerous human impact of social networking). On the flip side, I ain’t facing “dilemma” no more because he's already beat me to it. 

Who created God?

We’ve been contemplating when to start the religious education for the kids in the past year or so. This (between 7 and 9) is usually the time when a kid starts preparing for the first communion. But we have been dreading because it is a 2-year commitment (every Sunday) and we are just not sure that we could commit to that. Now that we are "quarantine" at home due to Covid, the Family Catechesis is available (as an alternative to the in person preparation), we decided to take on the task and play “teacher”. 

So A had her first “private lesson” with Dada today. She is “discovering” God. 

A: When will I discover God, Dada?

F: Soon. 

A: Can we do lesson 2 now? (She was so interested and wanted to start the second lesson)?

F: Be patient, Anya. We’ll do the 2nd lesson next week. We will discover God together. 

A: But who created God?

F: Hmm. That’s a good question. I think it has always been there. Perhaps it is a question you could ask the church. 

So here it is. A wrote a letter to Papa Francis.