The Hana Chronicles, Month 6, Day 6

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 27, 2026- Hana had two kinds of fruit today. At lunch, she sat with us and ate a few bites of apple. At dinner, she ate a bit more pear. She now sits in her high chair, for both meals, She tried sipping water through a straw, but needs a bit more diaphragmic power, yet. That doesn’t stop her from trying, so we will keep going on that front, day by day.

She made a visit to Whole Foods, with her parents, and was reportedly delightfully fascinated by all the sights and sounds-“well-behaved”, in her father’s words. What else could a six-month-old be, I wonder? Everything is new and exciting. Hana is taking it all in.

She also can “explain” things that she observes. When her Dad experienced a minor mishap, in the kitchen, this Noon, my granddaughter said “Daddy hurt” and tapped her hand, to show that was where he was hurt.

While the family was at Whole Foods, I went to the storage unit and retrieved five boxes and a few bags. I am making a definite dent in that unit and should have everything in the house or donated to Goodwill, by the middle of July.

My prayers go to Venezuela, where the situation remains horrible, following the two earthquakes near La Guaira, in the north of the country. So many families have members who are dead, or are buried under concrete. I am also watching three fires in northern Arizona, two between Flagstaff and Grand forward, Tuesday is the thirteenth anniversary of the Yarnell Hill Fire, which led to the deaths of 19 wildland firefighters. The threat is never far away.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 5

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Posted by on in Social, collaborating, Inspiration, Personal Values, Family, Striving, children

June 26, 2026- Hana “enjoyed” a banana, this evening. She ate a few bites, then played with the rest. Her jumper, and the tray to her high chair, were covered in banana art. This was conveyed to me by her mother, who thought a banana would be a treat for her. It was-just not especially as a food, at least for now.

Earlier, I found that Hana was having trouble chewing the semi-pureed beef that was left for her lunch. Yunhee got off work early, and so fed her by alternating meat with milk. I wondered aloud if that worked. My granddaughter looked me full in the face and shouted : “HO!” I took that, and her expression, to mean “Of course, Papa. Don’t you know anything?” I guess I know now-as with so many people, Hana likes to alternate solid food with a sip of liquid.

Hana has a robust sense of humour. She even laughs if she breaks wind, which is thankfully not a frequent occurrence and never very loud. It amuses her, though. Her laugh is infectious.

Our six-month-old got a clean bill of health from her pediatrician, this afternoon, and she is well within normal range, in her vital signs. Team Hana is doing things right.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 4

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Posted by on in Social, Personal goals, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Family, Striving, children

June 25, 2026- Hana sat up twice today, on her own. She called to me, both times, so that I knew she had reached her goal. Of course, she will build on this and be able to sit without support, for several minutes at a time, well before reaching 7 months.

In setting tasks for herself and practicing diligently, until she completes the task, Hana is a mirror of her grandmother. Penny always had a project or mission to accomplish. In many ways, Yunhee,, always doing some work on behalf of her daughter, is likewise setting the example. Hana notices what is being done on her behalf and part of her already wants to emulate purposeful activity. In her large playpen, my granddaughter is always on the move.

In my own sphere, any thoughts of slowing down have been quickly disabused. In keeping watch over this dynamic little girl, I will be just as occupied as in the days of community service and travel. Then again, slowing down was never my intention when I came here. Whether there is one grandchild, two or three grandchildren, the joy of passing the baton will be long in playing out.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 3

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 24, 2026- “I love” is the sweetest phrase, especially coming from a six-month old. I don’t expect my granddaughter to speak, but she does so and from her heart. Many times, Hana us repeating what she has heard us say, over and over. Sometimes, as with the comment, two days ago, about the beef, she speaks as her brain has told her, perhaps from having heard others speak, here and there. Her words of love, though, are definitely a reflection of how each of us feels about her. When she said it, this afternoon, it made my day.

I have a new role in my Faith community: Moderating consultation during our Sector’s (neighbourhood group’s) Spiritual Feasts. Tonight was my first time doing this, and I felt it crucial to ask for people to translate from English to Persian, at several points, as 98% of the group is Persian-speaking, and not all of these folks are fluent in English. It is Baha’i practice to provide believers with translation into their preferred language, and not to demand that they learn English for the convenience of native speakers of English. People should learn a language for their own progress or convenience, not for that of others.

Hana is being raised speaking English and Korean. I am also introducing numbers and a few key phrases in French and Spanish also. I have heard her speak English, here and there. She probably speaks a few Korean words to her mother. One needs to listen carefully, though, to the soft, high-pitched voice. As I said earlier, her words tend to come from the heart.

There is much to be learned from a little one, though, in discerning what matters most.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 2

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Posted by on in Social, Assistance, Personal Values, Family, Striving, children

June 23, 2026- Hana encountered tow periods of loud noise today. One was outside, as a landscaping crew trimmed several of the trees in our yard, which had been overgrown for several years. She didn’t seem upset by the commotion, and I explained to her that it was like a person getting a haircut. Trees need grooming too. Some day that will make sense to her.

The second burst of noise, a plumber using a drill to change out some fixtures under the kitchen sink, frightened her and she needed to be held and rocked, in the master bedroom, away from the kitchen, for about fifteen minutes, before she was able to calm down. It helped that the workman had finished his drilling in the interim. It seems more a matter of high pitch bothering her ears.

She seems to definitely have especially keen hearing-and vision, so I am not surprised by what happened. We know now to get her outside, when power tools are being used in the house.

Every day, there is a new revelation. Lunch went better today, so there’s that. We also got to walk a bit in the park, this afternoon. The dry season starts in a day or two, so walks will need to be done in the morning, from then until late September.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 1

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Posted by on in children, distraction issues, Family, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

June 22, 2026- “I don’t WANT it!” With two bites left of pureed beef, my granddaughter said she was not happy with the fare. She tried to take off her bib and wanted out of the high chair. I told her it was okay and we would go to the bottle feeding, which follows the solid food. I took the bib off, cleaned her face and took her out of the chair.

Hana is too much of a Clean Plate Club member to refuse food without cause; so when her parents got home, we discussed the matter and determined that heating up the beef at the same time I defrosted a cube of rice was a bad idea. They will be prepared separately, going forward. Hana is likely to be okay with the meal, tomorrow.

I encourage her to be discerning, but outspoken, when something seems wrong. A reasonable adult will hear the child out and either explain why something is so or make the effort to correct anything that is amiss. Sometimes, fatigue will set in, and she won’t know what she wants, so it’s nap time. She knows that Papa’s-and her parents’- response to her bad mood is to check the diaper first, then determine if she needs a feeding, then put her in the crib. She was more than happy to lie down for a rest, three times today-and still went to bed at 7:30 p.m.

She likes to share her ‘sphere inside a cube’ toy with me, so I shake the cube and bounce it off the playpen mat, with a moderate amount of gusto. She is delighted that I play this with her for ten or fifteen minutes. Then she goes on to something else, just periodically checking over her shoulder, to make sure I am still there. I leave my cloth slippers outside the playpen. As I was sitting in a recliner, with the slippers just outside the open playpen gate, Hana took a cloth that was sitting on the pen floor, and started to wipe my slippers. I don’t know where she got that from, but it is just another small thing that endears her to us.

My father passed away, forty years ago today. He would have been over the moon with this little girl.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 31

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

June 21, 2026- Hana started “observing” her Daddy’s first Father’s Day, by calling to him at 5 a.m. He slept through it, and Mommy came to get he rout of the crib. I saw all this on the baby monitor, then went back to sleep myself, Our girl is always in good hands. Hana did manage to sit up, without support, for the first time, thus fulfilling one of her father’s hopes for the day.

Aram and I were treated to grilled beef, onions, garlic cloves, and kimchi, settled on lettuce leaves, with brown rice as a bed. Yunhee worked hard at this grilling, under her daughter’s watchful eyes. A workman showed up, to make an initial assessment of some work he will do on the kitchen sink, tomorrow or Tuesday, Once that was finished, we set out for Carrollton, to visit a place called Old Ferry Donut. It is a Korean-owned branch of a chain that is popular in South Korea, so Yunhee wanted us to try it. The fare was nice, though by the time we arrived, they were out of almost every kind of donut. We managed to get three different kinds and shared them three ways. The donuts were cakier than most of the pastries I’ve had in Korean or Chinese-owned shops and more like those served in Mexican-owned establishments. Donuts are donuts, though, and I enjoyed all three varieties.

A family member once told me that I was given one job, and couldn’t even get that one right. This was one of those “out of left field” bits of nonsense that circumstances required me to not rebut. That hit and run aside, I got a t-shirt from my daughter-in-law today, that tells a more accurate story. I do have two roles, given by the Divine, and I am fulfilling both quite well. Being a father to my adult son, and grandfather to Hana, involves being here for both of them, listening and validating their feelings.

It’s been a nice Father’s Day.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 30

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Education, Entertainment, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

June 20, 2026-

The play pen doubled in size, this afternoon, an advance gift to Hana as she reaches six months. Her mom and dad worked hard on this, and she appreciated it on a certain level. She will have a lot more room to exercise and is very close to being able to sit up. without assistance. That would be a fine gift to Aram, for his first Father’s Day.

She has also resumed sleeping on her back, which will be more restful for her spine. It could be her body’s cue for both sitting and trying to stand up, but we’ll see. Solstice energy may also be coming into play here.

My day was fairly quiet- a trip to Farmer’s Market and over to Staples, for photocopying in advance of my hosting of a devotional tomorrow. We looked at our two trees in front. One of them will at least need to be trimmed. The days of yours truly going up on a 12-foot ladder, saw in hand, are most likely over- if only for son’s peace of mind. We will hire a tree specialist.

As we took a brief stroll, this evening, the strains of South Asian music-either Indian or Pakistani, could be heard coming from the ramada at Hoblitzelle Park. This bodes well for the summer nights ahead. We could go over and sit for a while, as Hana gets older. For now, though, it’s bedtime at 7 or 7:30.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 29

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Education, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 19.2026- Juneteenth, and the skies were raging! We awoke to heavy thunder and lightning, with about 3″ of rain falling, during the course of the morning. Aram went into work, driving carefully, on roads that were not yet waterlogged. The flash flood watch came a little later.but we were happily inside, until the rain stopped. There was no walk for Hana today, though. The stroller does not need to be pushed through mud, which usually runs onto sidewalks and gullies that form on the inside lanes of surface streets.

It goes without saying, that I will encourage Hana to resist any unlawful authority. I will tell her to respect and obey her parents, teachers and police. I will tell her that anyone who disrespects her person has not earned her respect. I will tell her that there is a system for reporting unprofessional behaviour by those who are vested with authority, and that her parents and I will be the first people to whom she should report such things.

This is the legacy of Juneteenth, that no one need consent to slavery under another human being-or group of humans. This is so, no matter the economic, political or social status of the would-be enslaver. Not all enslavement is plantation-based, as we see from the Epstein files and other accounts of human trafficking. No one deserves to be under another person’s thumb, no matter the initial enticement.

My granddaughter will know this, from the time she can walk.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 28

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 18, 2026- My granddaughter has a cue for me to wait just a bit, before giving her the next spoonful of food, at her lunch time feeding. With a twinkle in her eye, she sticks her thumb in her mouth. A few seconds later, she is ready for the next bite, and the thumb comes out. There is a method to many of the things that my Capricorn, Solstice-born delight of the heart does, in her feeding and in her playpen activities.

She carefully takes books and small plush toys out of a woven basket, and pushes them to one side, save the item she wants to manipulate and whose texture she wants to embrace. She will look at a book, also taking in its texture, shape and size, before pushing it to the edge of the pen. Then she will pick up a plush animal and hold it close, talking to the toy, in sweet tones.

She reminds me of Penny, her paternal grandmother, in her sweeter, gentler state of being. She also reminds me, of a friend who left this world last Saturday night. Annie was always present with a smile, encouraging words, and, if she knew and trusted someone, a hug. She and her husband, Dave, made their home available for gatherings of our Faith community, as often as their health and family needs allowed. There was always a comfortable meeting space, and afterwards, we all sat at the long dining table, enjoying fellowship and plentiful refreshments. Dave and Annie hosted Game Night, on occasion. My daughter-in-law, Yunhee, still remembers one such evening, when she was visiting me and went along. She was delighted by the warm reception she got, giving her a fine first impression of our Faith community.

That was what Annie and Dave knew best-making strangers into friends. Barbara Ann Lovell’s spirit will look upon her family, her community, those of us farther afield who enjoyed her friendship-and most of all, upon her husband. They were one another’s rock, as solidly-connected couples ever are.

May her voice echo in the activities of Prescott’s Baha’is and the city’s Peacebuilders, and Coalition for Compassion and Justice. Rest in Paradise, dear friend.