representation – Life Off Headset

No big adventures this weekend – just getting ready for Halloween and helping the nine year old with her Native American shelter project, watching Star Wars, and finishing season two of Ted Lasso. I really enjoy Ted Lasso, but so far each season has ended on kind of a mixed emotional note.

Saturday I also carved the second pumpkin. The four year old wanted it to look like our dog friend Max whom we were dog sitting that day.

I was up late finishing the baby’s Han Solo Costume. I had bought a white polo shirt and blue sweat pants. I added a red stripe to the sweatpants with red duct tape and then made a vest with lots of pockets out of an old t-shirt and boot covers out of black felt.

Halloween was on Sunday, and the kids went trick or treating for the first time in quite a while. In 2019 there was the threat of bad weather so they didn’t go, and last year there was no trick or treating because of COVID. I think this was the four year old’s first real experience of trick or treating. We went out with some friends because unfortunately our neighborhood is pretty quiet. The nine year old took off with her friends and I ended up with the four year old and the baby. Which was just as well because the baby was Han Solo, except the costume was a little obscure unless she was with the Millenium Falcon. And even then I’d say only four or five people knew who she was. She was quite a trooper and walked the whole hour we were out, only wanting to be carried for the last block. She was a little hesitant at first, but once she realized that there was candy involved, she was very much game to walk up to strangers.

Our friend’s neighborhood was a great place to go. Lots of houses were decorated and people sat out in front of their houses, so it was easy to tell who was giving out candy and which houses to skip. Most people also put the candy on a table, so you could go up and say hello, but still keep a distance. You could tell that the adults handing out the candy loved Halloween and seeing the different costumes. It was just a really nice atmosphere.

I was really happy with how the Millenium Falcon turned out and it got lots of attention. Several people said that it was the best costume of the night. That made me feel really happy. Also making me happy – the baby gets really excited about the Falcon and will point at it and say, “Bacca!” as in Chewbacca.

We trick or treated til about 6:45p – the weather stayed mild and the sky light for much longer than I thought it would. Afterwards, I sat and chatted with our friends for a little bit, while the kids ate candy then we went home to the Husband who stayed home on the off chance someone came by. No one did. The Husband was smart and didn’t open the candy, so I guess we can return it. Which is a little disappointing for me because he got this really cool mix with Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers, Kit Kats and Sour Patch Kids. I love all those things and was really excited to see a mix that combined chocolate and candy.

We took the kids to two of our neighbor’s house because we had promised to . One of them are new to the neighborhood and I knew they would be disappointed to get no trick or treaters. It was nice to chat to and lament the lack of trick or treaters in our neighborhood. I think it’s just the nature of how our street is next to a really busy street, so not many people will cross the road to our house. Also there aren’t a lot of kids on our street. I hope that evolves and changes.

so sad no one came to see these jack o’lantern masterpieces.

Two things that made me teary with joy today:

Michelle Wu elected as Mayor of Boston. Growing up, I think I internalized the idea that Asians, particularly Asian women could do great things, but in roles of quiet support and service. I didn’t grow up seeing Asian women in leadership roles, particularly in one that might be considered politically radical. Representation matters. I don’t know if Michelle Wu will be a good mayor or not, but I do know that seeing her lead a major American city will help tear apart the model minority narrative and hopefully inspire other Asian girls to not just be support, but be leaders and the face of civic change. In many ways that big picture is just as important as the immediate one.

COVID vaccines approved for children 5-11 years old. I’ve been hunting for available appointments. The County released a bunch of appointments around 5:30pm, and they were already gone by 7pm. I know that all my kids will be vaccinated eventually, but I’m feeling somewhat compelled to sit at my computer trying to secure a vaccine appointments for the nine year old.

This was not a good week for me holding my shit together. But moving on.

I had enrolled the 8 year old in an online drawing class – I was hoping to get her some more interaction, and I think she enjoyed, but it meant that we didn’t get as much outdoor time as we usually do, and I think tempers were somewhat frayed because of that. I’m still trying to figure out what is the right balance of outdoor time and interactive computer time.

We finished up the tie dye projects from last week. The bight starbursts and spirals of colour really made me happy as they sat on the drying rack. The blue dye was more potent than I thought and it took four wash cycles to get to a place where the shirts did not bleed in the wash.

Our adventure this week was to the zoo. A lot of the buildings were closed so that social distancing could be maintained, but there was still lions, tigers, and elephants to be seen and ice cream to be eaten. I don’t know that I would feel comfortable going again; people were really good about wearing masks, but I would have preferred more distancing. I keep optimistically taking the kids to places that have opened with precautions in place, but then realizing that the variety in people’s risk tolerance does not really put me at ease.

I watched the Met’s beautiful production of Eugene Onegin starring Anna Netrebko. For once, I watched it on our tv rather than on my computer or iPad. There is so much opera content out there right now. I want to take advantage of the chance to see these operas, but I also want to remember to really watch and not just view. Hopefully being more choosy as to what I watch and watching it in a focused way will help towards that.

(Incidentally, it was a double Netrebko week – for Friday movie night, we watched the Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, in which I was surprised and delighted when she made a brief appearance as “Opera Singer Anna.” The eight year old was really excited to hear opera in a movie. More so when she could identify it – “That’s La Traviata!” she shouted, as if it were trivia night. )

The 3 year old needed new shoes; his old shoes had holes in the toes. We made an appointment for our local kids’ shoe store and had a trip there. He chose some bright pink shoes. I appreciated how the lady at the store who fitted him did not bat an eye or try to steer him towards the rack of blue and green shoes. He is now a 10 extra wide. I asked about shoes for the just walking baby and our salesperson said that they weren’t necessary until cooler weather.

The Democratic National Convention was this week- a strange, slick affair of speeches and effusive partisan love. It was odd to listen to these rousing speeches devoid of audience applause or reaction; a certain momentum seemed lost to me. I was reminded anew about what a powerful and heartfelt orator Barack Obama was, and how inspiring he could be. The vitriol in his speech was a little surprising, but perhaps shouldn’t have be, given the occasion.

For me the most meaningful aspect of the Democratic ticket right now is Kamala Harris. More and more this year, I’ve come to see that representation in the mainstream matters. Everyone talks about Kamala Harris being Black, but I think it is equally important to recognize that she is half Asian. Part of the story that we were traditionally told about being the “model minority” was about being quiet and assimilating, being invisible even. I am recognizing, however, that the model minority trope is unfair and oppressive, and in fact hurts true diversity.

When the people that are seen in positions of leadership are all white and male, it is easy to think that is just how things are. Regardless of what I think of Harris’ past performance and policies, to see a Vice Presidential candidate that is from the same continent as my parents is amazing and can’t be taken for granted. When she was nominated as Biden’s pick for running mate, I almost cried as I stood in the kitchen listening to the news.

Here is what we ate this past week:

Saturday – Zucchini boats (using up leftover filling from last week’s zucchini boats)

Sunday – Shrimp and Broccoli Pad Thai from Dinner Illustrated. This was really really tasty. It was a lighter, tastier version than take out.

Monday – Salmon Tacos with Cabbage Mango Slaw

Tuesday – Stir fry (Eggplant, green beans, peppers)

Wednesday – Broccoli Quiche and Salad. Quiche made ahead of time, before we went to the zoo. Quiche is actually a pretty regular easy meal for us – I make a big batch of pie dough and freeze it, so all that I have to do is saute vegetables, blend milk (or buttermilk), eggs, flour, garlic, herbs together with shredded cheese. Put it all into the pie crust and bake. It feels fancier than it really is. Also great for using up bits of veggies in the fridge.

Thursday – Ginger Catfish, made by husband. Really tasty

Tag: representation

Weekend recap + good news Wednesday

Friday Recap + what we ate