Tag Archives: childcare

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 29

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

July 20, 2026- I used an unconventional means of opening a container, this evening. Hana looked astounded, and let me know that she didn’t think it was a good idea. I told her that, although it worked this time, I wouldn’t do that again. She gave a wan smile. If you have ever been scolded, in infant-speak, you know what I mean.

She is speaking her mind, a lot more these days, and I find it fairly easy to decipher what she is saying. There are times when she will speak, from the back of her throat, in intelligible English words- “I want that”; “I don’t want it.”; “I love you”. As the teeth pop out, she will produce more words, certainly.

She also has her own set of expectations for our daily routine. She will not go for a nap, until she has had her walk in the stroller and taken her medication. She also prefers to take any afternoon nap with me, in the recliner. Her lunch meal has the “bite” order of vegetable, starch, meat, sip from the milk bottle, and repeat. This works just fine and she is a plate cleaner.

HANA’S NOTE- I told Papa, “That is not a good thing to do”, when I saw him opening a salad box, without using scissors. I have to watch him every minute that Daddy isn’t home!

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1972 I was discharged from the Army on January 2, with the condition I attend college. I resumed my studies at North Shore Community College, in Beverly, MA. I lived at home the first semester. I worked at a warehouse called Central Sales, not far from the college, three evenings and Saturday mornings. As before, young women floated in and out of my life. I dated a sweet girl who was four years my junior, for a few months. She was more mature than I was, and it fell apart after about three months.

Summer brought a three-week jaunt across Canada, from Montreal to Edmonton and Calgary, then down through Montana, Idaho, Utah and across Colorado, the Midwest, West Virginia, Maryland and back up through Pennsylvania and back to Massachusetts. I met nice people along the way, and learned the limits of sleeping outside, in some of the national parks of Canada. Stops to visit people along the way ranged from turbulent (a pen pal in Colorado) to gratifying (my Viet Nam buddy , Bill, and his family, in Baltimore). I also first heard of the Baha’i Faith, outside Philadelphia. I was still comfortable as a Catholic, so didn’t investigate any further, but the name kept popping up, over the next several years.

Fall semester found me living with an eclectic group of people in Beverly. I stayed there with Al, Sandy and their housemates, into the following Spring. It was a pleasant arrangement and I learned the value of platonic friendships with women, other than my sister and cousins. Emotional maturity was coming along, slowly but surely.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 26

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Historical, Inner Struggles, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

July 17,2026- Hana and I were asleep in the recliner, so deeply that I didn’t notice Aram going in and out to get the mail. My granddaughter has the same calming effect on me that I have on her.

We had a busy “half day”, in that her parents came home from work early, to take her to a medical appointment. We thus managed our walk, “wrestling” (her crawling on me and my lifting her up in the air, in vestibular motion) and lunch time into a shorter frame. There was also story time, centered on “Sleeping Beauty”. Maleficent is portrayed in this brief version only as the “Old Fairy”. She ends up getting turned into a frog. Hana thought that was funny.

She is always overjoyed when one of us comes back to the house, after having been away for a brief errand. Having the family all together is a big deal to my granddaughter. She is delighted to just sit in the high chair at each meal, even at breakfast, which for her is a liquid feeding, still. She has complete meals at lunch and dinner.

HANA’S NOTE- I went to have my blood checked-AGAIN. This time, the nurse only stuck me once with the needle. So, that was not as bad.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1969 This was a year of firsts: My first time on an airplane; my first trip outside New England; my first extended time away from family; my first time really hallenging myself.

I left Star Market in January and went to work at General Electric’s Riverworks Plant, in Lynn, MA. My fahter, and several relatives and neighbours worked there, as well. Dad got me in. I worked in the rotometer calibration section. The senior technician told me my work was substandard, but he never bothered complaining to the higher=ups. Nor did he offer specific criticism that might have helped me improve.

It was a placeholder job, anyway, as I had asked the Army Reserve Unit to let me enlist in the Regular Army. My plan was to enlist for 3 years, then apply for an early release, so as to return to college. My enlistment date was set for June 16, and the recruiter determined I’d be best suited for the Army Postal Corps. I left G.E. on May 1, and focused somewhat on physical training.

Basic Training was at Fort Jackson, SC. I started off as a mewling klutz, but slowly and surely got with the program. I scraped by in marksmanship, missed Combat Fire-but never was made to re-take it, though I asked to do so, and excelled in the Physical Training Test. I did fairly well in the G-3 (General Knowledge) Exam, which was oral. On weekends, we had free time, and I went with a couple of guys who were from Columbia, to their favourite hangouts. I was the sole White guy with four African-Americans, but none of the Whites we encountered gave us any trouble over it.

Woodstock happened while I was doing things like learning how to properly handle grenades and re-sight my M-16. We were brought into a room and allowed to watch the launch of the first Apollo rocket to the Moon. Training was canceled that day. I made enough of an improvement that the cadre sent me on a 3-day pass to Myrtle Beach, on Labor Day weekeend.. I saw that there was little difference between it and the beach towns of New England, though the water was warmer. I stayed in a two-bed shack for $1 a night, and had the place to myself.

Fort Ben Harrison and the postal training were footnotes. I didn’t really bond with anyone in the unit, but went into Indianapolis by myself a few times on weekends. I never did get to the racetrack, though. Many of the guys went to VietNam, after AIT. I was sent to Fort Myer, Va. I was assigned to straighten out a mail operation, as my predecessor had ended up in Fort Leavenworth, for various postal crimes. That made a distinct impression on me. I got the job done quickly, to the satisfaction of the Inspector General. That November, a high school friend was killed in Viet Nam, and I began to re-assess what my responsibilities were. I fasted that Thanksgiving, and decided to give Fort Myer a year, after which I would re-assess my situation. Seeing Washington, D.C. on weekends was great fun, though, and I began to bond with civilians in the Georgetown neighbourhood, whose views on life were similar to my own.

Thus did the ’60s come to an end.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 23

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Posted by on in children, Community, Education, Family, Historical, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

July 14, 2026– Lunch is peaceful, when a bit of tactile feeding is involved. The food that ends up in Hana’s hands, as opposed to the spoon with which I feed her most of it, still ends up in her mouth-either by her own actions or by my scooping it from the body bib, high chair tray or food catcher at the base of the chair. What little finds its way to an unsanitary area, like the foot rest of the high chair-or the floor, is of course, discarded. She ate everything on her plate today.

How lunch proceeds also depends on the quality of her mid-morning nap. Even though that was brief today, she was energetic and happy, when she woke up. So, she probably slept pretty deeply. We also went out earlier than normal, so she had the extra pleasure of a cooler morning walk.

Hana is calling us “Papa”, “Daddy” and “Mama” more these days. She even used her own name and pointed to herself, for the first time, this afternoon. Her vocalizations, in general, have vastly increased, this week. She can also be quite loud.

HANA’S NOTE- I am happy with my name-and happy with the meals that Mama leaves for me. They feel nice and taste good.

YEAR IN REMEMBTANCE0 1966 Sophomore year went well, in every subject except Algebra I. Coach Stead tried his best, but I till didn’t get the hang of it. I managed to finally get a B in the course, in Mr. Quinlan’s summer course.

Most of our family summer vacations entailed a few days somewhere in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and 2-3 days at Johns Pond, in Mashpee, on Cape Cod. This year, after Mashpee, we took a day trip from nearby Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard. I like walking around Vineyard Haven, but more enjoyed a visit to a Wampanoag community, on the west of the island.

Junior Year, in the fall, brought Geometry, Chemistry and U.S. History, along with a dismal year of French- mostly because it entailed memorizing long lists of conjugated verbs-not my jam, then or now. One of my best friends was a freshman girl, who I had met at the beach over the summer. She was dating a sophomore boy, who also became a good friend. He and I sat in the back of Geometry Class and enjoyed one another’s snarky humour. We also managed to get through the class with Cs.

I hung out with a variety of kids this year. I had a ways to go with picking up on social cues, Joan and Charlie, to whom I alluded earlier, helped a lot, as did several of the guys in my neighbourhood- even though their name for the group was rather lame: “The Ave. Boys”. (We lived on or near Adams Avenue.) I walked over to Howard Johnson’s Restaurant, where one of the kids on my street worked. A number of teens from Saugus and nearby Melrose gathered there, mostly during the summer nights. We seldom drew the attention of the police-but Officer Gus Belmonte would chat us up and made it clear he expected no trouble from anyone. Gus was one of the better cops.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 19

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

July 10, 2026- Today was the Commemoration of the Martyrdom of al-Bab, a Baha’i Holy Day. On this day, in 1850, al-Bab, the Herald of the Baha’i Dispensation, was executed by firing squad, along with a personal assistant. Baha’is generally gather to say prayers and readings associated with al-Bab, Whose name means “The Gate”, in English. His Teachings were the gate to understanding those of Baha’ullah, Who came after Him.

As Hana is too young to attend such events, I said my own Tablet of Visitation here at the house. Hana sat in the playpen, right in front of me, and listened quietly as I prayed. She does the same when I say my daily morning prayers, each day. I sense that this practice is having an orienting influence on her.

This evening, Yunhee remarked that Hana is much more composed now. She sleeps through the night and only gets irritable when she is hungry. While Yunhee is at work, Hana and I have the feeding routine pretty much down. If she is napping before her medication, she wakes herself on time to receive it. Her lunch meal and bottle feeding are on schedule, as she is awake then and happily watches me prepare the items. I also have her watch me prepare the mid-afternoo0n bottle. After Yunhee gives her the evening feeding, she is ready for a good night’s sleep.

HANA’S NOTE- Papa and I watched some workers take our old sidewalk from in front of the house. Papa says they will put a new one in, next week. Since we also saw them putting in new sidewalks at the end of the street, I know he’s right.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1962 It was a year of transition. I finished Grade 6. Boys began teasing one another about things of which I had no idea. One of the “faster” kids in my neighbourhood noticed my naivete and talked to me about some of it. My father also gave me “The Talk”, before I entered Grade 7.

I had my share of friends in my immediate neighbourhood. Eddie and Allan were the closest, of the boys. After Ellen moved, I would go by her old house and hang out with the Geotis kids, whose father let me stomp grapes for his homemade wine. I got a glass or two of grape juice, that their mother set aside from the batch that was to be fermented. A group of us boys played touch football, in the middle of the street. Some men driving home from work would go around us. Others demanded we stop and make a hole for them. I was probably the worst of the players, but some of the boys felt it was a good thing to include even a klutz like me.

Grade 7, Junior High School, brought the concept of rotating between classes. I had a good Math teacher, Mr. Anzalone, a large man with a booming voice and quick temper, who also had a keen sense of humour and a heart of gold. My Social Studies and Science teachers were also competent. Mr. Anzalone talked with us about current affairs, during our home room time. This was the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and President Kennedy took a firm stance with the Soviet Union. We froze our missiles in Turkey and they, their missiles in Cuba. Thus, did cool heads walk back from the brink of nuclear war.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 17

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

July 8, 2026– “AMPA!!” My granddaughter called to me, while she was in the playpen and I was in another room. She keeps close tabs on loved ones.

These things also happened today: A spammer called me and left a voice mail: “Gary, can you hear me?” I deleted the call and the voice mail. I do not answer anyone who hides behind a number.

Aram dealt very well with a private matter that was making him nervous. He handled it himself, as I knew he could.

Hana fed herself some of the beef and spinach that could be easily picked up with her fingers. I told her I was proud of her. I, of course, fed her the rest of the meal.

We went out for our walk, before the temperature got too hot, just before her lunch. The sidewalks are being replaced at the cul-de-sac corners, so the first part of our walk involved sharing the cul-de-sac with a couple of vehicles. We had enough room to pull off to the side, until they went by. The rest of the sidewalk was open.

After her lunch, I brought Hana into the kitchen, while I fixed mine. When she saw the container of sliced watermelon, she said “watermelon!”, in a hopeful manner. I told her I’d have to ask her mother first. Yunhee said, this evening, that she thinks watermelon is too sweet for Hana right now. The girl was sitting there and more or less shrugged her shoulders.

HANA’S NOTE- So many yummy-looking things in this house. I get a few of them. Mommy says NO to sugar and salt. Those must be not good for me. I would eat them anyway, so I am glad my grownups keep me safe.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE, 1960- Grade 4 ended, with me knowing all multiplication and division tables, cold, as well as the steps for long division. Mrs. Kimball, it turned out, had been dealing with a serious health issue. She would only teach a few more years,

My second brother, Glenn, came along, right after school was out for summer. All three of us boys were in one bedroom, after he reached six month, and was in a crib. That was while I was in Grade 5. Miss Hanlon, our teacher, told us that a man and a woman working together can accomplish a lot more than two men or two women. I saw this in action, with my parents, especially once Dad went back to day shift. Miss Hanlon taught us more about kickball, which the previous two teachers had started letting us play. I was never very good in sports, but I could at least kick the ball to the outfield and catch it fairly well.

John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States. We were all proud because he was from Massachusetts and was fairly young.

Saddest of all, though, we lost our Grandma. She was the one who kept Cheryl and me feeling secure, when both of our parents had to go grocery shopping on Saturday mornings, when we lived on Central Street. She would come to visit us on Adams Avenue, taking the bus to the corner and walking up the street, always wearing a full dress. I missed her terribly.

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 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 23

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

June 13, 2026– My most treasured little girl is asleep in her crib, as I sit her in my office space, watching her on the monitor. Her mother is out grocery shopping and her father is at Monthly Drill. I am in my element. Caring for this delightful child is almost a capstone.

While Hana and Yunhee hosted a friend from DHL and her 9-year-old daughter, I headed over to Plano’s Red Cross Donation Center and played host to about twenty blood donors. I also trained a 16-year-old high school Senior, who wants to study medicine. She will be a fine volunteer, probably mostly doing weekends, as I am. The need for such hosts, though, is pretty light during the summer months, as those senior citizens who are occupied with Substitute Teaching during the school year-as well as University students on break, tend to take the slots as soon as they open-fine by me, as it gives me weekends with family.

I watched a few more Dhar Mann videos, in between registrations. One, which was particularly interesting, was a bit dystopian. Eugenicists had taken over California, and had instituted a “culling” program, involving a standardized test. The son of the eugenicist Governor teamed with a student activist, and turned his father, and his school’s Headmaster, in to Federal authorities, just as they were about to initiate culling. Of course, this was another ‘feel good” story, with a last-minute happy ending, but it got me thinking. We always have a path to resist and overcome misfortune-and it is usually one that involves informed and diligent group action. That last-minute turn of events was preceded by a lot of research and documentation on the part of the students and one adult investigative reporter. So it may be with various challenges our society faces.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 18

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

June 8, 2026- Hana took it upon herself to help me in revising her schedule today. On her own, she pointed towards the master bedroom, wanting to be put down for a nap. This nap lasted two hours, after which she enjoyed her lunch of beef and rice, followed by a bottle. There was then an hour or so of play, in the pen,-and a second nap, which wasn’t nearly as long.

Another hour of play was followed by a couple of stories, which she found amusing and a short walk along one of the nearby side streets. By this time, four hours had passed since her last meal, so she had her second bottle of the day. Altogether, she is down to four feedings of milk per day and the given day’s pureed solid food.

She is diligently working at crawling with her torso off the ground and trying to sit unassisted. She is also vocalizing more, especially calling for her mom and dad. She is also less prone to crying for them, perhaps starting to be secure in knowing that they will be coming home after work.

It is a joy to see my granddaughter want to be a full agent in her growth and development. I look forward to all the stages ahead.

The Hana Chronicles, Month 5, Day 17

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

June 7, 2026- Hana had her first taste of meat today. It was boiled, pureed beef, which she found underwhelming. I can’t imagine it would be all that appetizing, especially after having the same meat, seasoned and grilled, as part of a steak salad dinner, this evening. Still, a baby can only eat soft foods at first. Four incisors don’t make for very good chewing. She finished the serving, though, and will have the same tomorrow.

She also went on her first coffee shop visit, this afternoon. Local Good Coffee House is a shop that is staffed mostly by high school students who are doing community service. Only the manager is paid. The rest of the proceeds, outside of overhead costs, go to education and public health funding. We sat and enjoyed cold lattes, while Hana alternately looked around and napped on her Daddy’s shoulder. She noticed a toddler arguing with her mother, at one point and babbled some words in what sounded like a scolding tone. The little girl may or may not have heard her, but decided to obey her mother, shortly afterward. Energy can have a positive effect.

I spent the morning volunteering at the Red Cross Donation Center, in southwest Plano. We had about twenty donors, but after registering them, I passed the time watching Dhar Mann videos on the center’s TV. Dhar Mann is a producer of short episodes that teach a positive moral lesson, often using plot twists. The scripts are simplistic and the acting so/so, but for children and adolescents, the stories could be useful. When the time comes, I will watch some of them with Hana, say when she is 8 or 9.

It was a nice weekend. Now, we get ready for another week of developmental activities. Her current focus is on getting herself to sit upright. She is almost there.