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The World of The Stray

I read Betsy Wyeth’s The Stray to my sons years ago. Westen couldn’t read when he posed for this picture, but it became a treasure map for us as we explored #MyBrandywine. —-

Betsy’s story didn’t treat children as fragile eggs to spare from the rough and tumble of her anthropomorphic world and Jaime’s illustrations were alive with the characters of Chadds Ford.

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Betsy was no small part of our burgeoning love of museums, explorations, and narrative.

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Thank you, Betsy, may you rest in peace.

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Thank you, Brandywine River Museum of Art, for being home to beauty and wonder.

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Wim Hof Challenge: Day 20

I’m halfway through Wim Hof’s 40-Day Quarantine Challenge and feeling strong. I’ve missed two cold showers, but have been averaging close to three minutes cold per shower, so I’m feeling like I’m hitting the marks.

About to jump in for an evening shower. I sleep solid after a couple minutes under the cold.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Saving the World

The only way to help the world is through the Self. Being a light in the darkness, brightening that light every day. The light is love. Fear and darkness cannot overcome the light of love.

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This is the darkest time I have witnessed. Fear of disease and government power are more dangerous in the imagination than in reality. So, what do you imagine? What do you see when you close your eyes or look into the sky? How are you choosing to love yourself? What are you listening to? What are you watching? What are you repeating? Is truth so easy to acquire that we can get it from sitting on your ass? Does it come without questions? Is truth what “everyone” is saying? —-

Popular opinion has never served me well. God speaks to each of us as individuals. Every word Jesus spoke is powerful. The ones that touch me the most are the ones he spoke to individuals. He spoke to the very particular circumstances of each person. In those small moments, grand knowledge is available.

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It was all personal. Jesus didn’t write letters or leave messages on walls, he spoke to people, he embraced them. He lived during a time that was unimaginably more dangerous than ours. An embrace could kill you, or your family if you were strong enough to fight off the threat and they weren’t. Death was more real than it is now. People died in their homes, in front of their loved ones. Now we shut off the old and sick, to extend their lives in isolation. Is that the goal? A high score? What cost are you willing to incur for that longer life if it comes with increased suffering? What line do you draw? A hundred miserable years, or 47 glorious turns around the sun?

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What would you choose? What are you choosing?

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God bless and thank you for reading,

Jasom

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Be Curious

Brett Veinotte and Tom Woods are two of my favorite voices on education and the libertarian approach. I’m closing my day with listening to them as they discuss the hyper reaction to the unclear health threats we currently face.

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/5/0/c/50c01ac0de23edb8/woods_2020_04_14.mp3?c_id=69922307&cs_id=69922307&expiration=1587351549&hwt=d9d4d286adf73b7379de31f59a50d08d

God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason

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Getting Around Delaware

This April we hiked Roberts Farm in Odessa; Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Smyrna; Alapocas and Bellevue State Parks, Russell Peterson Wildlife Refuge, and Banning Park in Wilmington, with countless little walks around this and that neighborhood.

We hiked with old friends and new. We discovered new things in old places. We found out that we’re not the only ones who think the world has gone belly-up mad.

God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason

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Lego Escapism

This is going to be big. I haven’t indulged in a big Lego project in over a year and I finally got too jealous of my son’s award-winning builds to hold out any longer. They are amazing inspirations and helpers as fountains of ideas and solutions. So really, my big builds are family style.

This idea started with watching Lego Masters. One team used train track elements for a rounded build and I was intrigued. Rounded building is challenging in many aspects as so many of the elements operate at right angles. The curved train tracks proved to make a circle that was much bigger than I wished to work with. Curved race track elements created a more manageable circle with lots of strong connection points. I decided this would be a great frame for a classic UFO.

I tried to let the space dictate the build and since some green hexagons fit nicely in the center, I built a garden. My sons are helping with exotic plants and I had fun with a fountain in the middle. My late wife loved gardening and I saw that this build was going in a personal direction.

Next, we put in an art gallery and jiu-jitsu studio. Taking lots of liberties, we remained dedicated to the spirit of our favorite places: Brandywine River Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum, and Elevated Studios. These went in as primarily white and blue rooms, respectively. The next two rooms will be grey and an as-yet-to-be-determined color. My elder son is cooking up all kinds of fun gadgets and displays for the navigation/engine room and my younger is challenging me with a grand vision for the last quadrant of the circle.

The dome over everything is a first draft of sorts and completely new for all of us. We really enjoy pushing the limits of our abilities and we are fueled by all the creativity we witnessed on Lego Masters. We’re plotting out a bottom dome as well to potentially create a full globe of a ship. We may build a hulk of a spaceship.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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The Adventure Lifestyle

Westen wasn’t six months old when he went on his first camping trip. On his second birthday he got his very own sleeping bag.

Nine years later and that bag has kept him cozy in campgrounds from Michigan to Georgia, music festivals from Maryland to New York, sleepovers with homeless families at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, sleepless nights with friends, and a wedding in Pennsylvania.

As we prepare to celebrate his eleventh birthday, cancelled camping trips and music festivals dot the calendar. I don’t know when or where the next overnight adventure will be, but I know we’ll be ready.

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Three Days Is Plenty, Thank You Very Much

I don’t know how you humans do it. We hardly left our property for three days and it tore at our minds and emotions. Easter holiday, rain storms, lots of Lego, and a Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone audiobook conspired to keep us inside, but they weren’t enough to keep us sane.

A small errand got us out after solving a dead battery (even our transportation had gone mad with inaction). We bought some junk food (unheard of in our recent immuno-boosting frenzy) and aimed to play in the sun. We trolled neighborhood schools and public parks for a secluded playground to enjoy out of sight of snitches. We ended up with a beautiful patch of green, bags of chips and pretzels, and all the sunshine we could absorb. My sons rolled down hills, climbed trees, and abused dandelions. All in pajamas and sandals. We wrestled and I wondered just how many days I had left before these two will be overpowering me at will.

We found some new spots to explore in adjacent neighborhoods and picked up a pizza to watch the Lego Masters finale at my girlfriend’s place. After a week without TV (post coming on that), it was a fine way to return to the boob tube.

Adventure is a call that we ignore at our peril. Even if just a bike ride down a new avenue, our spirits crave the unknown. I learned today that I must be intentional in feeding that craving in isolating times.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Time Warp

We listened to the entire first Harry Potter book today?! More than 9 and 1/2 hours while we did little more than build Lego and eat meals.

Highlights included a team effort in recreating one of our favorite Jamie Wyeth paintings.

We also had a great surprise when more Lego appeared at our door in the form of a prize my elder son had won in a remote building contest.

Many thanks to Kids’ Ketch for the contest and for judging my son’s build the winner in his age group (the dreaded 10-14 range of Master Builders).

My sons built all kinds of things and helped me with a massive family creation that will feature some of the favorite activities we are currently missing. We’re experimenting with new techniques and pushing our engineering and creative minds.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason

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Wim Hof Method Challenge Day 12

I missed my shower completely yesterday, marking the first slip up in my challenge regimen. I’ve been consistently doing three rounds of Wim Hof’s breathing technique and at least 2 minutes under a cold shower every day since April 2nd. I’ve tried morning and night, with my sons and solo, with varying breaks and workouts, and indoors and out. I stopped timing my breathing retention as that was a distraction that hampered my performance.

It seems to always bring me what I need, a charge to start my day or a blasting away of the day’s detritus.

One notable exception was when I first tried to do the breathing outside with my boys. They were fidgety and wild with their breathing and I let it get to me. I quickly adjusted and have learned to enjoy their enthusiasm while, at once, they become more disciplined.

God bless and thank you for reading,

Jason