CLOSE, CLOSER, GONE, BUT STILL IN MY HEART.

I have told my siblings for years,
for years :

Be where you need to be. 

Even if we go through periods of being geographically distant from one another, I would rather have physical distance than emotionally distance. 

The two don't have to be related. Geographic distance with emotional distance. But you gotta fight, ya gotta fight for what's important. A little fight goes a long ways.

Of course there's a certain amount - a lot - that you lose with not seeing someone regularly. But I would rather support people I care about being where they need to be and doing what they need to do, even if it means giving them up, then have them stay geographically close just to stay safe and secure.

But man, man, man oh man it's hard some days.

Some days, some days are just harder than others when you miss someone.

That's circa 1994. Jonny's bigger and buffer and smarter and a whole long ways away now.

But we are still connected.

Forever.

CHARACTER TRAITS | ADVENTURE.

A character trait we’re focusing on this month is Adventurous.

What does it mean to be adventurous; to have the spirit of an adventurer, to adventure into unknown or uncomfortable or dangerous territory? Can someone be adventurous in certain areas and not others?

Is it always a positive attribute? What other traits are related and often go hand-in-hand? And importantly: how do you KEEP AND BUILD a spirit of adventure throughout your life, not just childhood?

An embedded way of approaching life in every facet, not just in the ‘Jack London physical quest into untamed territory’ type? And who are good examples of adventurous spirits in cinema, literature, and history?

I am a big proponent of little ongoing and frequent adventures being as important as occasional bigger ones. Ones where you create, or explore, or discover something in a way that is exciting and unique and different than just approaching as a task to be completed. The road, the long winding road should be filled with wrong turns and side streets and abrupt stops.

Good thing I’m bad at directions.

___

FIRST DAY?

School Districts still on strike. No agreement yet. So no official first day at the alternative school 45 minutes away we commute to twice a week to join other families with similar educational investments in their children. 

I told the children today would be a soft start. Meaning we ran through a handful of items: 

• Khan Academy overview
• "About Me" posters. Always a highlight of the year. I love seeing the changes year to to year. They'll be working on them over the next couple weeks. I gave the first five items to include:
• Name and grade
• Animals
• Foods, desserts, drinks
• Future career
• Type of home, house, hut, castle, van, etc. they want to someday live in
• German and Latin. Jumping back into our explorations into Romance languages, which will also include a heavy dose of Greek prefixes, suffixes, and roots, and probably include more than a handful of stories ancient history, despite the fact that we're focusing on History of the Americas this year. :) 
• Coding. Johannes will continue with block-based, Magdelana will be moving into Javascript right away. 
• Photography. 

Of course their little brother is in the thick of it all. Off we go. Another year of adventure and exploration ahead!

LEIF & LEONIDAS.

It couldn’t;
The sun could not be the center,
but then it was.

It couldn’t;
The earth could not be round,
but then it was.

It could not;
No one could score eight points in the final nine seconds to win a playoff game,
but then Reggie Miller did.

It most definitely could never ever happen;
A Viking and a Spartan will never be friends,
until they are.

And then you know anything is possible,
and all will come to pass.

A LETTER TO ALMOST-BIG PEOPLE.

Dear Almost Big Person, and Friends,

it takes a long time,
but finally you get there
and you realise
how cool it is to be big,

and then the nostalgia's
gonna kick in, kid.
ya still got a few moments of child-living left.
you're not all the way big yet.

but just about.

and when you're there,
all the way big,
you can eat popsicles whenever you want,
with your main peeps on each side twenty-four-seven;
that's how cool it is to be big,

today, ya just get one treat though,
cause you're not big enough for two.
enjoy that first one, don't ever forget it,
it'll be the best spinach-and-veggie popsicle your mama'll ever find ya.

and you don't have to do anything you don't wanna,
that's what it'll be like when you're all the way big.
but try to enjoy the journey for a tiny longer.
it ain't too good being little,

but it ain't all bad either.

there's a downside to getting big, maybe two:
ya gotta shower once a month or so,
or other big people get sore.

enjoy the bigness, and don't hurry it up.

sincerely,

A Really Cool Big Person.

THEN EVERYTHING GOES DOWNHILL.

The day ahead. Full of opportunities for optimistic opportunists.

One will continue learning how to properly wave goodbye and say thank you.

Another will fine-tune parkour moves and essay thoughts into words about what it meant to be a woman in ancient Sparta.

And a third will follow a love of Hebrew and linguistics and plot a future travel course around the world.

Enveloping all these will ideally be a trifecta of love, insatiable curiousity, and humor. Ah yes, humor. My wife, the delectable @countessbecca, remarked this morn that

😂

“... “Mornings are so full of hope and light. Then everything goes downhill.”

😂

To be with people who can take life sincerely and seriously and love learning...yet also keep a lightness of heart and sharpness of wit and interest in poking fun at ourselves (i.e. me) when we get too preachy....that is a wonderful thing.

Happy Friday, Universe.

SISTERS DRESSING BROTHERS.

Be yourself. The best version of yourself. Or at least the most stylish.

And if you have a sister, always trust their fashion advice. Always.

OVERHEARD. toilets and chores.

Sissy!
the voice shrieked cheerfully from the bathroom.
I'm on the toilet, so would you mind making my bed for me? I can't do my chores right now.

___

It is my understanding that this request was not responded to favorably.

A PORTRAIT OF POSITIVITY.

The bright & glorious possibilities ahead on any given day.

SPEAKERS FOR THE FRINGE.

I'm sure there are more than three things I'm thankful for, but only three things popped into my head this morning, so I'll list them below (see below). They have brought so much joy to my life. If I think of other things to add, I'll try to do so later.

1. FRINGE. The most underrated science-fiction network television show of all time that drew comparisons to X-Files with its far-out speculations and conspiracies, but whose beating heart was the poignant and sometimes hilarious relationship between father and son. So good. Dr. Lee Long, you sir, have some of the best characteristics of Dr. Walter Bishop. Love ya.

2. SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD. Orson Scott Card's follow-up to Ender's Game that raised the idea of what a sequel could truly be and surpassed the original.

3. TOWELS. If I had to get out of the shower every day and completely drip-dry, it would take me a lot longer to get ready, and water could possibly end up congealing on the floor and getting underneath to the subfloor and possibly walls, and if it made its way to structural supports it could collapse our entire house and if we were inside and everything came down around us, it would be dusty and we'd have to shower and the cycle would start all over again, except for not having a house. So we'd be camping for a while, unless our tent was ruined. I'm grateful for towels.

I'm going to put some hard thought today into whether there's more I can add to the list. Will keep you appraised and apprised. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving, and Gwen Stefani has a new Christmas album.

A LAD, A FOREST, A MUM.

a lad’s love for mom

is magnificent to behold;

whole-hearted loyalty

full-smiled royalty 

unabashed 

unbridled 

undisguised ecstasy at being together wherever. 

two-way trail. 

pretty,

pretty awesome.

I AM I AM I AM A GERTRUDE STEIN.

oh summer is dead.

now is the bleak grey night, plus

hot cocoa with straws.

___

a time to focus.

a time to be aimless.

that is the dance.

A DAY LIKE ___ OTHER.

a day like every other, and no other.
use it well.

THOUGHTS ON COMPETITION.

Sometimes, it's not the winning that's important, it's the simple act of competing well and enjoying the process, and making sure you come in ahead of everyone else.

HE IS HEAVY, AND HE IS HIS BROTHER.

to care,
and to be cared for.
that is a balanced life.

_____

#thehollies

TWO DAYS FROM YESTERDAY MIGHT BE BETTER THOUGH.

a day like every other, and no other. 

use it well.

Hey Becca, it's your anniversary, and mine!

...

We've been wed a while now. We should open that 20-year old can of Nuteena today.
___

Here's the plan: we listen to a bunch of ABBA and Judas Priest. And then wing the rest. #planner

___

In response to your upcoming inquiry: sadly, the answer is yes. The children DID get into the dark chocolate peanut butter cups you just got. I failed to stop them. I am so, so sorry.

P.S. The hashtag you invented is awesome.

#15andout

___

If someone was to get you either a giant television OR a motorcycle today, which one would you most prefer? #hypothetical #ornot

___

I don't want to freak you out, but Costco has Christmas stuff out, and I'm afraid if we don't jump on it now, everything will be gone. Shall I grab an extra cart and throw in everything I can fit? I'll get some straps to tie down stuff on top of our automobile too. One fake tree, or three, just to be safe?

#holidaypanic #valentinesdayiscomingfast

___

OVERHEARD (ANONYMOUS).

Let's look for a new mother on Pinterest,
one child grumbled to another with wicked grin.

No.
I said.

___

"Well-read people are less likely to be evil." *

So true, mostly. Doing our part to try and make the world less evil, along with the magnificent, personable Washougal Community Library. Thanks for being awesome and un-wicked.

*Mr. Lemony Snicket

ANALOG (USE TODAY WELL).

Today is a day. Use it. Use it well. ___ #pnw #44analog #long2017 #dorothyparker

A post shared by Joseph Long (@josephivanlong) on Jun 24, 2017 at 8:05am PDT

WHICH ONE?

Five minutes after we finished Tom Sawyer last week, one of them asked me if we could re-read. #happyheart

(and which river?)

ENDANGERED (A BIRD A PLANE A ________.)

Oh my word!
he screeched.
Look! There is a BUNNY up in that tree!

Really?
I said.

Oh...
he said.
I guess it's a raccoon.

Really?
I said.

Oh wait...
he said.
It might be a...squirrel.

Whoa!
I said.
Cool.

A squirrel!
he squealed.
So cool!

And ran off to begin drawing a map of Europe.
____

Happy sunshine day!

BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY.

Sometimes you gotta talk thing things out. Or arm wrestle for supremacy. Whatever it takes to resolve conflict semi-amicably. I really have no advice to give, but I will tell you that your life will be infinitely better if you can commit to listening to at least 15 minutes each of the #Pixies and #Rachmaninov every week. ____ #long2017post #evel0 #mdl09 #44music #conflictresolution #childrening

A post shared by Joseph Long (@josephivanlong) on May 2, 2017 at 8:57pm PDT

SUN-TZU IN POWELL'S.

Things Sun-Tzu never said: "Show your opponent all the cards you're holding." Unless, of course, you're holding a full hand of Draw-4s, Reverses, and Skips. In that case, don't just crush them, let them know that the annihilation is forthcoming and inevitable. ____ #powellsbooks #UNO #long2017 #evel0 #artofwar #suntzu #powellscityofbooks #pdx #44portlandnw

A post shared by Joseph Long (@josephivanlong) on Apr 7, 2017 at 10:10pm PDT