Fast forward to today, September 8, 2011, and I’m having coffee in Mojoe’s and talking to the wonderful mother who turned me onto Jedi camp. In the grand scheme of Evan’s life, an enormous amount of time has passed between Jedi Camp and today. The mother says, "Your son is Evan right?" The gears start turning in my head as she continues, "Evan and my daughter had a fight." My heart sinks. The mother smiles, "Evan told my daughter that girls cannot be Jedi. And my daughter argued with him and told him about the women in the Clone Wars." After a chuckle, we talk about little minds, the funny things they produce, and amazement at the fact that the two are still talking about and remembering Jedi Camp. Good times!

Kids Workshop is an award-winning program that has been offered at The Home Depot stores since 1997. The workshops are free, how-to clinics designed for children ages 5-12, available on the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. and noon at all The Home Depot stores. Children, accompanied by an adult, use their skills to create objects that can be used in and around their homes or communities. …

• Since 1997, 17.5 million projects have been built at Kids Workshops
• More than 1 million children built their first toolbox at The Home Depot.
• More than 845,000 birdhouses have been constructed at Kids Workshops.
• 75 children per store attend a Kids Workshop on average while many stores have 200 kids attend regularly.

[Source, Home Depot Corporate, Kids Workshop]

See also: Home Improver Club, Home Depot Blog, and Corporate Statement.

Mr. M was a typical new patient: 74, with diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol. He had some prostate enlargement and back pain. His bag of pill bottles was depressingly bulky. I spilled the bottles out at our first visit, sorting them by disease. … Mr. M didn’t remember the names of all the medicines … Mr. M was clearly still confused about his medicines…

[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]

In the end, we learn that Mr. M is illiterate, unable to read either Spanish or English. The story would be similar to many other stories of illiteracy leaving us emphatic, but emotionally disconnected, had it not been for the last paragraph.

My kindergarten-age daughter is just beginning to read, and she is taken aback with delirious joy each time a few random letters suddenly form a word that matches real life. It’s a painstaking process for her, but as I watch her I think about how this skill has powerful ramifications for her health and longevity. It’s a gift, really, one that I’d long to transfer to Mr. M if I could.

[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]

I know that joy! My son has become quite the avid reader. He no longer wants to be the listener; he wants to be the one who reads aloud. And I too wish I could give that gift to Mr. M.

Remember, they are never too old to participate in reading with you; whether you are the listener or the reader, make time to sit with your child and a book.

• My wife couldn’t get off our street due to ice
• Our friend managed to get onto our cove returning our son 11pmish but couldn’t get out
• My neighbor had to use 4 wheel drive to escape the ice
• The postman slid into a neighbor’s yard
• My father-in-law had difficulty leaving the street
• My 17 year old daughter slid her car into our retaining wall and had to climb out the passenger side
• My 17 year old daughter took our van to pick the 5 year old up from school

Waiting with bated breath to hear that the 5 year old makes it home safely and that the van survives.

Oh, and btw, secondary roads in Knoxville are still precarious. This is why schools get canceled.

Sometimes, your word choices don’t match your actions. You feel stupid as you lose your temper with a child and shout, "quit being so angry!" or something akin to that. But it happens. And you paint yourself into a corner. You start down a path and almost as the words roll off your tongue your argument with/discipline of the child becomes about "how do I back out of this?!" Words can be like knives. Word choices can inflict as much pain and damage as physical abuse. As parents, it is important that we truly think before we speak or act. And perhaps, before giving that child a timeout, we should give ourselves one first. This morning, overtired and with a head cold but without an excuse, I should have given myself a timeout and didn’t.