Maddie had taekwondo again today. Nana and I went with her to watch as she helped train the next generation of combatants. There are a lot of newbies coming in as this new season is upon us, all different ages, even adults in there. with low belt rankings wanting to move upwards. Her leadership class continued with kamas, and with practicing form as well. I sit there with my laptop and watch from the parent observation area, frequently working on KidPak related stuff. Nana sits and watches, and then talks to all the other parents and students that come up to speak with her.
Speaking of combatants, our hummingbird viewing has been strange lately. We have this one hummingbird, and based on pictures we've taken, it looks like either a female ruby throated hummingbird, or perhaps even a female or younger male rufous hummingbird, although the latter would be super unusual given it's usual migration route. The reason I say "combatants" is that this particular bird is super territorial, which is putting it mildly. We've called it "The Guardian" because it sits on a nearby perch, usually this one close-by branch or sometimes even the heart-shaped designs on the framework of our canopy. And it guards the hummingbird feeder so that no one else can drink from it. Other hummingbirds fly in, and sometimes there are multiple ones, but this little bird's primary purpose is to sit there on a branch and swoop in when others flitter by, establishing the fact that no one else is allowed here in this backyard. There have been so many attempts by other birds to get a free drink, and some are successful. But for the most part, this feeder - which has more than enough for everyone - is guarded right now by one bird. This is somewhat amusing, and also somewhat annoying, because a huge percentage of the time, there's nobody drinking from the feeder, not even the Guardian, who just sits there watching, presiding over the realm known as our back yard.
Speaking of combatants, the spiders are still trying to establish their dominance too, unfortunately. We actually went out and got a few more cans of bug spray, some of those long distant shooting ones. I'm opening up the upper windows of the house from time to time and like a sharp shooter, I'm sniping these things with long-distant hip shots, because I can't stand these three-inch spiders hanging all over our house. I am not exaggerating when I say we're killing about twenty a day. And these are big ones too, like as long as your thumb.
Speaking of combatants, Maddie was studying tonight a bit afterwards, and doing some homework. Although it gets on her nerves when I ask or try to help or do anything related to her school work. So I guess I'll stop. I know that's great parenting advice, but lately it's not worth it at all to talk about school or even music. I'm laughing at the music one because it's so left field. Mom and I were listening to some Beatles music, and our thinking was that someday Maddie would give it a try and appreciate that sort of music. But then there's this defiance about it, and then a defense of her own generation's music. Which we're not saying is bad, of course. Your generation's music is fine, Maddie. But we weren't even talking about that. I don't know. Sometimes it seems we're not even on the same page. Sometimes we're not even in the same book. But we knew these days would come.
Speaking of combatants, we read tonight from "Kingdom Keepers," where the Overtakers are battling to do something awful on the Disney Dream, although we're not quite sure what that is yet. We've only got a few more chapters in this book to go. It's been a longer one. We said our prayers tonight, and we were off to bed earlier, just because it's a school night. I'm back to a pattern of not sleeping well, so I'm in bed a lot earlier than Mom. But we're at least over the virus, or at least in the "comeback" stages of it.
I'm looking at that virus in the rear-view mirror now. Can you believe as sick as I was, I still managed to get Maddie to all her appointments? I remember sitting in the car, absolutely suffering. What was I thinking? But still I got her to church, to taekwondo, to piano, to Team Edge and more. I just sat in the car, super sick. That was probably not wise on my part, just for my own health. Right now, people are being hospitalized left and right for this. We had an old friend of ours from the church just pass away this month from complications due to this virus. Some people have a terrible reaction to it. What could have made it worse for me was the underlying condition that I myself had. I just recently suffered a major heart episode, and it's crazy that literally the day after my last cardio therapy session, I came down with this virus. Some would say I went from the frying pan into the fire, but I look at it like this: God made sure I didn't get the virus while my heart was healing. I got to go through weeks and weeks of cardiotherapy, strengthening my heart muscles and taking blood thinners. And it was all at a good enough place so that when I did get sick, I could withstand it. That's how I think of things, and I'm again grateful for that.
But meanwhile, others are getting sick, and this virus seems to be surging again. No one is closing anything yet, and we seem to be in a national phase of "let's try staying open instead." For the most part, at least. But no one is certain of anything still. Vaccinated people still get the virus. People who have already had it can get it again. New strains come. People who are vaccinated still need to wear masks in certain places. People who are unvaccinated aren't allowed in certain places. Decisions are made not necessarily on any concrete scientific evidence, because there is so much evidence out there that contradicts itself. Everyone seems to react a different way to this virus, from the most severe to the asymptomatic. It's a challenging time, and "speaking of combatants," there are many that are holding on to a belief about masks, vaccinations, about this virus in general, and they're absolutely certain about it. It feels like a political belief, where many are selectively choosing to believe certain things, while dismissing others. Heck, that's life in general. Certain scientists do that all the time, picking the truths that support their pre-determined beliefs, while dismissing other things that could possibly unravel their convictions. So in a way they're right, and can say they're right by spouting off this factoid or that statistic. But other information is ignored, just like with politics, suddenly things get very tribal about what "truth" really is. It's an interesting process to watch. Frustrating too, of course.
Anyway, I was off to sleep pretty quickly today. Not sleeping well, still recovering... but it'll all be okay.
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