An overriding philosophy of my company is "diversity". Sometimes it can be overbearing because there is an opposing school of thought which says, "Just because something is unique doesn't make it useful". I think a picture of a bent fork accompanies that motivational poster... The idea of diversification in life is equally important even as it applies to parenting. Kendra and I continually keep that in the back of our minds when it comes to the adventures of the 4 Webbs.
One example is the cultural aspect. We went to the park because the day time high dipped below 100 degrees. I mean that literally. We showed up with our bag of sand toys and for the life of me I can't figure out what other parents are thinking when they bring a car load of kids to a park without sand toys. really? come on. Anyway, the good outcome is Easton and Layla learn to share and we get a chance to interact with all the other kids.
In the picture are two Chinese speaking kids. They said Ni Hao (hello) and Layla said Ni Hao right back. She knows this from watching "Ni hao, kai-lan". then she said the chinese word for slippers, which is a random thing to do in the normal course of conversation. The Chinese boys' father said, "Do she watch Kai-lan?" and I smiled and nodded.
Also, there is an East Indian lady in the background and Layla played with her daughter on the playground equipment. Even though I mis-understand and sometimes dislike other cultures I am stretched socially to interact and be civil to a variety of people. Kids don't care though and I'm glad Easton and Layla know it's normal to be around so many different colored kids, languages, and backgrounds.
Easton and Layla are just as friendly and sharing and interactive with these kids as they are with their cousins. I'm proud of them for it. To me this environment is weird because we didn't have much diversity in my childhood. Not because my parents shielded me, but because it didn't exist in our towns.
Easton was happy to keep his tractor though. He's much more at ease with sharing when he is able to keep his most prize digger to himself.
Another area of diversity is the food. Some kids are content to eat Mac N' Cheese 7 days a week. Whatever works for them is cool. However Kendra does a great job of spicing things up with a wide variety of meals. For example, we ate chicken gyros with grilled mushrooms, peppers, and tzatziki sauce. I bet there are few 3 year olds who would willingly eat tzatziki sauce like Easton and Layla.
We also give them sashimi at the sushi restaurant (raw fish), which they beg us for. I have to fight for my delicious slices of salmon and yellowtail tuna. Dinner gets expensive quick when 4 people are eating sashimi. Most people would say that sounds weird, but for Easton and Layla sashimi is a standard part of our adventures. They eat hummus, cucumbers, squash, shrimp, alligator, you name it and they've either tried it or tried it and liked it.
Neill and Jenny are winding up their 10 day stay with us. The twins are already taking their presence for granted by expecting them to be around and play with them. Dual back rubs is a sure fire way to calm the twins down and make their day.
Some people may think it's weird to have anyone in their house for 10 days, but not us. Our families (we consider Neill and Jenny as family) are so great that we love the time together no matter when or where or for how long.
We are taking full advantage of them being here with nightly, deep discussions about a range of topics. Many people are excited to get 15 minutes of their time to share and listen to their wisdom. We get days at a time where we can really dig down into their wisdom and knowledge. Such a blessing for us to have them around...
Our plans for the upcoming weekend include a trip to the circus! The twins have never been so this will definitely be entertaining to watch them experience the circus for the first time. I'm just excited to do something besides work over the weekend. :)
See you soon!
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