One Last Look: A Year in the Life of Red!

Several days ago I wrote a post -- 2011: A Year of Firsts and New Experiences -- looking back on the adventures and experiences of my family over the 2011 calendar year.  Now, 10 hours before the end of 2011, I thought I would give you all a look back at the Red! Blog over this past year.  So here is an at-a-glance look at the content of the posts of 2011:

Thanks for reading Red! this year!  Have a happy new year, and we'll see you in 2012!

Hush Little Baby

As I sit down to write this, it is 10:00p.m. on a Friday night.  Kaleb is sound asleep in his new "Big Kid" bed, and has been for about an hour and a half.  Unfortunately, my news feed is currently filled with posts by friends who are struggling to get their kids to go to bed or to sleep.

People often tell me that I am very lucky to have a child who goes to bed without a fight -- and they're right!  I love not having to deal with tears and tantrums to get Kaleb into bed when it's time.  But, while he was an excellent sleeper as a baby, I worked to maintain his good sleep habits as he got older by establishing a routine early on and sticking to it faithfully, with very rare exceptions.

2 days old, 1st night home from hospital

I've discovered that some of my friends are surprised that Kaleb sleeps "so much."  And, by comparing notes with friends and some coworkers, I've learned that Kaleb sleeps more than many of my friends' children.  At Kaleb's last check-up, I asked his pediatrician if that was ok....was Kaleb sleeping too much?  The answer I got?  Nope, Kaleb is sleeping just enough, and many of the other children I know aren't getting nearly enough!

So, in hopes that maybe someone I know can find some information here they can use, I'm publishing here some of the info I got from Kaleb's pediatrician as well as some of the methods I have used myself.

2011: A Year of Firsts and New Experiences

The Pensacola Pelican Drop Pelican

Here we are at the end of 2011.  At some times during this past year, the days have seemed to fly by; at others, time seems to have been moving soooo sloooowly.  But slow or fast, the time has passed.  It's time to close the book on 2011 and prepare for 2012.

At the end of 2010, I blogged about the year in a post entitled "The Obligatory Year-End Blog Post."  The title, of course, was to make a joke of the fact that pretty much every blogger of any kind writes a New Year or End-of-Year post.  But after putting a lot of work into my blog this year, updating and formatting and improving and writing more often, I've come to see that blogging isn't such a joke.  Even if no one else cares to read my writings, I've learned that writing is my therapy.  Any time I've had a bad day, a good day, a boring day, a challenging day, or any other sort of ordinary or not-so-ordinary day, I can use my blog as a place to chronicle the events of Kaleb's and my life.  And on particularly emotional days, writing is more cathartic than crying, more of a release than talking, and more comforting -- and healthier -- than all the standard comfort foods.

Originally, I had planned to wait and post this on New Year's Eve, but I've decided to go ahead and post a little ahead of schedule.

And so, as we launch into 2012, here is my look back at the past year:

Dumplin, Monkey, Snickerdoodle!

 Since becoming a parent almost 3 years ago, I have begun to notice how common it is for parents to give their children nicknames.  Some are standard nicknames, like calling Robert "Bobby" instead or calling William "Will" or Benjamin "Ben" or Patricia "Patty" or Christina "Tina."  It's not uncommon to hear that a boy who shares his father's name might be called "Junior."  I even attended high school with a boy called "Tres" (which he pronounced 'tray') because he was the third in his family to have the same name -- both his father and grandfather had the same name.  These sorts of nicknames are fairly common, and no one seems to bat an eye or give a second thought when being introduced to Jeff (instead of Jeffrey) or Jake (instead of Jacob) or Becky (instead of Rebecca).

Christmas for My Child

In a couple of weeks, Kaleb will be turning 3 years old!  I can't believe how fast he is growing up.  And as Kaleb grows up, his desire to know everything about the world around him only increases.  As a parent, this is both exciting and frightening for me, as those of you who are parents are sure to understand.  I'm excited that he has such an appetite for knowledge; I'm entertained, and often amused, at his fascination with new things and the innocent ways he interprets the new things he sees; and I'm scared to death of all the many bad things there are in the world that he will eventually learn about.

One of the hardest things I have to decide as Kaleb's mother -- and I'm sure this is a personal struggle for most parents -- is deciding what to teach Kaleb, when to teach it, and what interpretations to teach him.  This year, for the first time, Kaleb is starting to understand that there is something special going on that has something to do with this 'Christmas' word he hears all around him.  But what does it mean?

Obviously, with my particular spiritual beliefs, teaching about Jesus will never be an issue.  The "real" holiday for us is the celebration of Yule, which is a more private affair on the day of the winter solstice, and certainly not something catered to by retail.  He'll learn, without being taught, that it is a time for family and charity to others.  When he's older, I'll teach him about that at the same time we discuss other things believed by people with different faiths.  The bigger concern for me is how or what to teach Kaleb about Santa Claus...and I'll have to teach him something because, this time of year, Santa is everywhere.

I grew up in an active church-going family, so I was raised with the story of the baby in the manger.  And our family was also a Santa family.  Stockings were mysteriously filled by Santa Claus as we slept and a few extra presents would also appear under the tree that night, wrapped in paper totally unlike the other gifts and with "fancy" gift tags bearing our names in unfamiliar handwriting.  As a small child, I never questioned the existence of Santa.  Sometime late in elementary school, my friends and I came to the consensus that there was no way Santa could be real.  I didn't feel cheated or disappointed or lied-to.  It was just another one of those "growing up" life lessons like the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.  Of course, I still played along at home because I had a 6-years-younger brother and, well, Santa was just fun!

I always assumed I would be a "Santa parent" as my parents had been.  Why not?

The Origins of "XMas!"

Over the last few weeks, as with every year, my Facebook news feed has become flooded with the angry postings of my devoted and well-intentioned -- albeit misinformed -- Christian friends railing against the atrocities of substituting the word "XMas" for their perceived-to-be-holier term "Christmas."  I generally shake my head, since I know more about the origins of the word XMas than my Christian friends apparently do.  But, since I believe that knowledge is the key to solving many problems, I've decided to tackle the issue in a blog this year in hopes that my news feed will be more XMas-friendly next year.

I'll be quoting excerpts from several other sites, but will include links back to the original articles for those wishing to read them in their entirety.

First, quotes from this article on the Christian Resource Institute's website The Voice:

Repost: An Open Letter to That 53% Guy

Originally written by Max Udargo on October 12 (2011), and I first saw it on the front page of the Daily Kos several days later.

=================================================================

Hello,

I briefly visited the “We are the 53%” website, but I first saw your face on a liberal blog. Your picture is quite popular on liberal blogs. I think it's because of the expression on your face. I don't know if you meant to look pugnacious or if we're just projecting that on you, but I think that's what gets our attention.

In the picture, you’re holding up a sheet of paper that says:

I am a former Marine.
I work two jobs.
I don’t have health insurance.
I worked 60-70 hours a week for 8 years to pay my way through college.
I haven’t had 4 consecutive days off in over 4 years.
But I don’t blame Wall Street.
Suck it up you whiners.
I am the 53%.
God bless the USA!

I wanted to respond to you as a liberal. Because, although I think you’ve made yourself clear and I think I understand you, you don’t seem to understand me at all. I hope you will read this and understand me better, and maybe understand the Occupy Wall Street movement better.

First, let me say that I think it’s great that you have such a strong work ethic and I agree with you that you have much to be proud of. You seem like a good, hard-working, strong kid. I admire your dedication and determination. I worked my way through college too, mostly working graveyard shifts at hotels as a “night auditor.” For a time I worked at two hotels at once, but I don’t think I ever worked 60 hours in a week, and certainly not 70. I think I maxed out at 56. And that wasn’t something I could sustain for long, not while going to school. The problem was that I never got much sleep, and sleep deprivation would take its toll. I can’t imagine putting in 70 hours in a week while going to college at the same time. That’s impressive.

I have a nephew in the Marine Corps, so I have some idea of how tough that can be. He almost didn’t make it through basic training, but he stuck it out and insisted on staying even when questions were raised about his medical fitness. He eventually served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has decided to pursue a career in the Marines. We’re all very proud of him. Your picture reminds me of him.

So, if you think being a liberal means that I don’t value hard work or a strong work ethic, you’re wrong. I think everyone appreciates the industry and dedication a person like you displays. I’m sure you’re a great employee, and if you have entrepreneurial ambitions, I’m sure these qualities will serve you there too. I’ll wish you the best of luck, even though a guy like you will probably need luck less than most.

I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something.

Un-Subscribed

Near the end of every major sports season, I find myself un-subscribing from the statuses of one Facebook sports-fan friend after another in order to rid my News Feed of the constant sports-related updates and team rivalry and posturing.  This could happen during the Stanley Cup, World Cup, World Series, Super Bowl (or other bowl games), March Madness, or numerous other "big" sporting events.

In advance of un-subscribing from anyone, I generally post a status myself to let them know.  Tonight's post went like this:

Initially, I meant my response to my friend, Richelle, to be funny.  But after posting it, I realized that it was actually more accurate than I had planned.  I do un-subscribe from people from time to time; we all do, and modern technology makes it easier and easier all the time!

You've done it, too.  I promise.