It's 10pm. In 2 hours, I'm Graduating from Tuesday

. . .and earlier today Ben and Milo graduated from Preschool.

Yeah. It brought a tear to my eye. Not really. But it was nice to be done with that chapter, we're all about closing chapters. Forward movement always feels good. I cropped the pictures so you couldn't see Mrs. Teacherface. Partly because there are internet safety and anonymity rules that I don't understand or necessarily live by but I do try to respect the internet anonymity rights of others. Also, you'd see in the photos, if I didn't crop them, that Mrs. Teacherface's head is actually smaller than that of my freak mutant twin sons. No, not metaphorically. Quite literally, my littles have unreasonably disproporionate heads. Now that they are in a tall/skinny phase, they look even more like 2 really rotund fat guys on top of really tall unicycles. I think it's all they can do sometimes to keep the little body under the big head.

Max also acheived a milestone. Tuesday night he was awarded the Cub Scouts Arrow of Light. In scouting, it's a big deal. It's the passage from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, and the Arrow of Light patch is the only one of all their Cub Scout awards they can wear on their Boy Scout uniform. We scrambled to get it all done, our timing is such that we really only recently committed ourselves to Scouts. And my sudden involvement in Scouting as Assistant Webelos Den Leader/Webelos Den Leader/General Backup Guy to Original Webelos Den leader has certainly helped to encourage accountability. So we were both surprised ( I hadn't been to a Cub Scouts Den Meeting since I was in the 4th grade) that there was a real ceremony, with a real headdress, pow wow costume, ritual readings, and a hand-made arrow for Max! Very cool. The best part was when every Cub Scout was invited to go to the Arrow Of Light boys, congratulate them and shake their hand. Max glowed there :). I'm sure that was the point.

I am 100% down with the idea of exposing boys to values in scouting. For me it's about manners & respect, and as blogged previously those are hills I'm ready to die on. I know (though I often forget) that the idea is not to brainwash values into the boys, only to expose them to them. We talk about them, ask questions, do things and explain why we did the things. All important skills that will serve throughout life, and it gives the boys a vocabulary for ideas like courage and leadership. Those are things I didn't think about until I started reading literature in high school, so I'm thrilled to help Max get a head start. I've gotten the Scout Leader Crash Course, now I'm eager to see how the organization works within the church & maybe find my own place in it all.

The NS50 is now gone *sniff*, leaving me but one motorized cycle. And it could be argued that The Minnesota Winter Scootyped Project is more of an unsolved mystery than a motorcycle. This empty space in the workshop is yet another chapter closed, since I haven't been without a real motorcycle since I was 15. Instead of feeling releif and hope for the chapters to come, it really just is a reminder that I've yet to find the next chapter. At least I'm acknowledging it, if not addressing it in an expeditious manner. I'm trying to embrace the lostness and mystery, just be lost, instead of kvetching over how I shouldn't be. Very Tao :) I'm trying to listen, if that makes sense, maybe for clues as to where I am -- instead of clues as to where I should be.

And I've been getting some serious clues lately that I should address my physical well being. The book previously mentioned, it turns out, was not "Making Your Metabolism Your Bitch" but "Body Intelligence". And of all the books I've decided maybe I should be reading, it's the only one that made itself land in my lap almost immediately at it's very mention. There is also the evermore obvious fact that I don't find joy in eating like I used to. I've always likened it to sex, it's a sensual pleasure, something that one shouldn't deny within healthy limits. And there hasn't been very darn much denial in my life. Nope, if I woke up tomorrow on my deathbed I would NOT wish I'd eaten more chimichangas or chorizo. But for awhile now the sacrifices of such foods have outweighed the benefits. There are no more rationales for eating the way I've always eaten, all that remains are the habits. And that's supposed to be what this book (Body Intelligency by Edward Abramson) is all about.

Remember The Freakin Elf Shorts? Here is a link to both the latest caption contest and also a comprehensive history of the shorts. . .

http://theinfomaniac.blogspot.com/

. . . which I am intermittently both proud of and concerned about my involvement in. Gets a little racy at the end, in case your sensibilities are easily offended ;).

Or-may ater-lay, iends-fray.