All Work and No Play…

Little Man is almost 5. I can’t believe it. I can clearly remember the day he was born. It was such a good day – I got to stop worrying about him getting here and start worrying about him being here. It was, oddly, a relief.

Over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know my Little Man and his very unique personality. My list of worries has changed with every year. I started simple – I worried if he would stop breathing one night. Then, as my parenting skills got more sophisticated, I worried about more complex things like whether he would walk in time to go to the next room at school. Yeh, I know … really big stuff.

One year, his school asked me to write a wish for him. It was one of the harder things that I’ve had to do. I don’t know why. I think I might be an overachiever – I guess I was concerned that the sentiment I wrote wouldn’t cover what I really wish for him. I couldn’t find the words. Time ran out and I ended up going with a single word. Happiness. I think it works.

So … as I said … Little Man is approaching 5. Now, my worries are a bit different. I worry about his future a lot. [Not sure I need to say this, but I am a worrier ... usually in silence, I think. Maybe not. Nevermind.]

Recently, Husband and I have noticed a pattern that we are, all at once, very proud of and a bit concerned about. You see, Little Man likes to work. He likes to learn about work. He prefers TV shows about work (most of the time). For him, work is play.

If I think about it, he’s always been a worker. I think it started as a way to be with Husband as much as humanly possible. Then, he discovered tools and that was it. Work was/is the IN thing.

There’s a story for every week. (… and if you stand still long enough, he’ll tell you everything you ever wanted to know. But, that’s another pattern for another time.)

If you ask him what he did when he went to visit his grandparent’s last month, you’ll get an earful about using weed-whackers, mowing the lawn, hauling stone, making waterfalls, using chainsaws, and raking leaves. He got up every morning and dragged his grandpa out do to as much yard work as they could accomplish in a day. Every morning. Every day.

Fast forward a few weeks and he’s up every weekend morning asking Husband what their jobs are going to be. He’s particularly interested in when they are going to mow the lawn – which he monitors daily so he can report when it needs attention. [He has his own tools and knows the routine. He always brings me flowers and warns me to stay inside with BK because it's too noisy and we'll get scared.]

All of this industriousness makes me smile. Sometimes I struggle not to giggle. He’s so serious. Such a Little Man. It’s so honest and sincere … and dang cute.

I know that this work ethic will serve him well – beyond the bonding that he’s doing with his father and his grandpa. It will help him be confident, secure, and successful.

I worry that he won’t fit in with other kids. Kids who would rather play video games or other inactive pursuits – or kids who enjoy sports. There’s no club in school for kids who like to mow the lawn. I worry that he will be too serious. I worry that he’ll grow up too fast.

Then, I hear him giggle at his sister or get excited about a snow globe or a train. I listen to him get silly as can be. Then, through the magic of a giggle, I realize that he’s not exactly all work and no play … and he’s certainly not a dull boy.

He’s who and what he is. He’s a delightful young man who has well-defined interests and a curiosity about life and how things work. He also loves deeply and is a caring and helpful soul. He’s my Little Man.

I will always worry about him. I’m his Mom for goodness sake. It would not be normal if I didn’t worry about him – particularly in this crazy world.

But, I have to say, that some 4 years later, my wish still holds. I want him to be happy … whatever happy is to him.

Spa … Ahh

James Lipton, a.k.a. the guy on Inside the Actors’ Studio, always ends the show by asking guests a series of questions originally used by Bernard Pivot.  None of the questions are particularly difficult and, by themselves, I’d guess the only place you’d find them is in a conversation between friends over cocktails.

Taken together, they are a pretty interesting list. Which, I suppose is why they’ve been closing the show with them for some 200 episodes!

There’s one on the list that always struck me as a tad more difficult than the others.

#8: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I have trouble with questions like this because, while there are tons of jobs I might like to try, I just don’t think I’m well suited to anything much different than what I do. I mean, hey, that’s one of the reasons I do it, right?

But today, I think I may have found my answer. That is, if I were ever to become a famous actor, be invited on the show, and asked the list of questions. Which is, of course, not going to happen because that’s NOT the profession other than my own that I’d like to attempt!

I think that I would be well suited to being a massage therapist.

Now, this is quite a departure from my current and former gigs in the world off education and I’m not planning on leaving to take up the massusical arts (not a word, but I like it a lot).

I was at a spa today (long past due) and I realized that the lovely young lady working the tired out of my muscles has a pretty good job. At least, I think so.

Now, I’m going to simplify this a bit and there are probably going to be huge generalizations tossed in here, but think about this. This dedicated stress reliever…

• Is someone everyone is glad to have an appointment with
• Has an office that overlooks a beautiful pool, beach, and sea. Location, location, location
• Gets to work with people and provide a valuable customer service
• Has a lot of time to think and let her mind wander (you cannot tell me that they do not tune out for the better part of the hour while they are kneading away)
• Always smells good (those lotions always smell clean) and has soft skin (at least her hands and forearms)
• Gets to listen to some of the most soothing music all day
• Works in a nice cozy naturally lit room
• Works in a place designed as a stress-free zone

I have no idea if I’d be any good and I’m absolutely certain that it’s not as easy as they make it look. But, I think a lot of it sounds delightful.

Then again, I was thinking all of this while heavily under the influence of relaxation and aromatherapy scents. My judgment may or may not have been impaired!

Second Life

For the past week or so I’ve been muddling around in Second Life. I’m traveling “in-world” for some work research, but I’m finding that this little project is raising quite a few questions … about technology and how we use it.

A quick look at my birth certificate will tell you that I’m nowhere close to a Digital Native (not one of my more favorite terms, btw). However, I’m oodles more tech saavy than the vast majority of Digital Immigrants. So, I get that I may have a bit of a “stuffy” opinion here. The digital version of “if it’s too loud, you’re too old” … but this is my blog, so here’s my general take:

• Second Life is a lot like The Palace (circa 1995ish). It’s a giant chat room. It’s 3D (not very good 3D, imho) whereas Palace was not. But, it’s still basically a chat room.
• The innovation here is really that LIndon Labs has figured out how to monetize this … you can actually spend fake money in Second Life and exchange it for “real” money. Rather than simply opening a a server location, you pay for land. That’s pretty spiffy … and, frankly, creepy.
• I’m told 35% of the people who are in Second Life go there for sex – and that the #1 money-maker is prostitution. OK … who are these people? Seriously. That’s one I just can’t wrap my head around … that’s a lot of people.

Now … that general description leads me to this next bit.

There are a lot of folks – prominent folks in education – who are touting the possibilities of using Second LIfe. I get what they are saying. I do. It has the potential to be a very cool tool; something that grabs attention and offers up all kinds of possibilities.

However I’ve not yet heard, in any of the presenations or readings I’ve done, of anything being done in Second Life that is different than what is happening in schools. The assignment examples are essentially moving “brick and mortar” assignments in to the virtual world. That’s necessary in the virtual schools situation, but in a traditional school it’s supplemental.

Forgive me for this but, in many ways, I’m as confused by the proposed uses as I am by the people who are going into Second life for seedier pursuits. I mean … it’s fairly similar … aren’t you just takng the “real” out in exchange for the “virtual”? Same act, just virtual? Yeh, I know, creepy and a bit startling.

I think that I’d like to see “different” come to life in Second Life. If we are going to risk putting students into this worldly environment, then we’d better get a huge bang for the buck. This can’t be a situation where we allow avitars to do online presentations just because we can.

Educators need to think about life situations where an environment like Second LIfe is necessary … what tasks now in play in the global economy require understanding of and use of virtual environments? We need to design real tasks for that environment rather than migrated tasks designed so that we can use the environment. It needs to be about more than just engagement … sex sells but that doesn’t mean we should take the easy route!

I have some ideas, but I don’t have answers. I have opinions about what should not be done. Not sure what to advocate for, but fairly sure what to advocate against. It’s a tricky scene and I’m, all at once, intensely interested in and skeptical about where this path will lead!