A Little Bit Of Sadness
19 Feb 2010 Leave a Comment
Last night Josh discovered his little pet anole, Ryan, was dead. I guess you need to feed and water a creature on, you know, a regular basis. The problem was that we would keep Josh’s bedroom door shut and the old cliché “out of sight, out of mind” became a reality for poor little Ryan. Josh was in tears the rest of the evening. I think he felt responsible for Ryan’s death and he wanted to give Ryan a proper burial. After explaining that we live in the frozen tundra and a proper burial was not a possibility, we had a short and sweet ceremony around the trash can where Ryan will wait to be transported to his final resting place. I am not sure if we will be getting another pet anole anytime soon since we failed miserably taking care of Ryan. I don’t think our hearts can take it. We will mourn and move on and remember our temperamental shy creature from time to time.
Dusting It Off
18 Feb 2010 1 Comment
Well, it’s about time to pick up this blog and dust it off a little. I have so much on my mind that I don’t even know where to start.
Let’s start with this:
I originally wrote this on January 16th when Josh graduated to his Black Belt in Karate. I was slacking on picking the pictures that I wanted to use and editing them to look a wee bit better than straight out of the camera. The problem is that there were really no good photos to choose from so I had to take the best of the worst. I really need to learn how to use my camera and its many functions properly and possibly get a better lens that will help take nicer photos. Speaking of cameras, I took out my camera on Super Bowl Sunday to take photos of the great party that we threw, turned it on and gasped in horror at what I saw. Something inside the camera was shattered and the screen looked like a broken window. I teared up and nearly vomited and tried my hardest to make it go away but nothing I did would revive my camera. We decided to try to take it back to Sam’s Club since we bought it there because of their great return policy. They returned it, much to our delight, and I got myself another big girl camera, a Canon Rebel T1i. Sometime between when I got my XSi and my T1i, Sam’s Club changed their return policy so we fell under the old one with the return but we got an extended warranty for the new one because of the new policy. Anyway, enough about cameras. I will have to post the few pictures of the party taken with our old Olympus point-and-shoot sometime soon. They are a real gem I tell ya.
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Deadly Weapon
According to popular belief, earning a Black Belt in Karate renders one’s body as a deadly weapon. So, according to popular belief, Josh himself is a deadly weapon because today, after nearly 5 1/2 years, Josh received his Black Belt in Karate.
In September of 2004, after two years in ECFE, Josh and I were looking for another alternative to preschool. Josh was always kicking his legs and acting all ninja-like which led me to believe that karate was right where he needed to be. So I did a little digging around and found USA Karate which has a great class for preschoolers. He thrived throughout that year and decided that he would like to join the juniors class when he went into kindergarten. He punched and kicked his way through the belt levels and we spent untold amounts of money on protective gear and bow staffs and uniforms and belts and tournaments and trophy personalization and graduation fees. Oh. And tuition. I have avoided adding up the cost because I just don’t want to face the truth. I can’t handle the truth.
By May of 2008 Josh had earned his Brown Belt and he got to participate in the advanced graduation in Minneapolis. He worked hard and complained hard and in January of 2009 he earned his Advanced Brown Belt and, again, graduated in Minneapolis. Through blood, sweat, and tears we have reached this big day. Well, not so much blood but a lot of sweat and tears, especially tears, were shed in the years, months, days, and hours (oh, the hours!) at the studio learning and preparing for today.
One part of earning a Black belt is designing and demonstrate a self-defense with two attackers. Josh performed his today and he and his attackers did a great job! I happen to believe that it was very creative and well-executed and I think the Grand Masters and Instructors thought so too. Another part of earning a Black Belt is learning and performing the musical form. Josh struggled for a long time and then one day it all clicked and now he knows it well. I am incredibly proud of Josh and that he has been able to stick with this sport to see it through to the end.
Going with that thought of seeing it to the end, recently I was thinking about other sports that require a lot of, um, money to participate in such as hockey and football. I was thinking how the sport keeps going on and on with no end in sight and no tangible award for the effort other than an occasional championship if they happen to be having a good season. Karate has a clear end, a goal, and a tangible award: The Black Belt. So even though Karate makes for a hefty bill Josh has a grand reward for his efforts. Not only has he learned priceless life lessons, he can look at his Black Belt and know that he can do anything he wants to if he works hard and perseveres through the rough times.
Mr. Pruden tying Josh’s Black Belt on…
and congratulating him on a job well done!
Robbie and Sid were Josh’s attackers.
Proudly displaying his name on his Black Belt. I’m not so proud of his sheepdog ‘do.
Josh is registering himself as a deadly weapon! Kidding! He’s signing the Black Belt roster.
Mr. Taylor and Mr. Pruden.
Oh, and about the deadly weapon part. That’s a myth, a legend. Some instructors throughout the years have fraudulently “registered” their students as deadly weapons. For a hefty fee of course. There have been a few cases in a court of law that the defendant’s knowledge and expertise in Karate has been taken into account but it doesn’t automatically make them a deadly weapon. I just had to clear that up for all of the two people who read this blog.
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