The Big Red Bag

The Big Red Bag.

Since 1990 the flagship American Girl store has become as iconic for Chicago as the Hancock Building or Lake Michigan.  Red bags in the hands of little girls bounce down city streets declaring, "Welcome to Chicago, folks.  Yep, you're in America now."

I'm not sure how we've lived here a year and a half and not darkened the door of the place. A year and a half ago my girls had little knowledge of these dolls.  When a very generous teenager in our church decided to pass on her dolls to my girls... the love affair began.  They've listened to the entire series (on library listening tapes) of almost every historical doll from Native American Kaya living in the 18th c. American West to Jewish American Samantha living in turn of the century New York.  They are hooked.

We decide to treat our own little American girls to some birthday fun 

this week by visiting the famous store. To quote Rynn,

"Daddy, this is an experience of a lifetime."

Want to go inside the store?  Read on...

Ice Skating

This Christmas Grammy & Pops gave the girls ice skates.

I've been putting off a post about ice skating 

with hopes of snapping some good pictures of the local outdoor rinks,

 a Midwest phenomenon that continues to amaze this Southern girl. 

 Every winter, once temperatures consistently stay below freezing, 

 local fire departments flood parks to create 'natural,' outdoor ice rinks.

Jason skating last winter (January 2011) at Gillson Park in Wilmette.

Strike a Pose

I reach for the last bag of toasted wasabi seaweed on the top shelf of the snack aisle at Trader Joe's.  Over the speakers a voice belts out, "Life is a mystery. Everyone must stand alone. I hear you call my name, and it feels like HOME."  Thinking more about reaching to the top shelf than the music that is playing, I sing out loud without realizing it.  I catch the eyes of a middle aged employee stocking the shelves.  He laughs at me. 

"ARGHH, she's everywhere this week!," I reply.  "Haven't we had enough of Madonna?."

He laughs again and says, "She's going on tour again. They just announced it yesterday.  Come on, people!  What's the appeal?."  

"I know!," I exclaim, "I can't believe MORE people tuned in just to watch Madonna at half time than watched the actual Super Bowl. It's crazy!."  I respond emphatically, not wanting to admit that I was dancing in my living room during the whole show.

The song ("Like a Prayer") is in my head the whole way home.  It's been a long day of classes.  The children are in bed.  Jason greets me with a warm bowl of chili, a hug, and then returns to his TV show.  I retreat to our condo's bathroom that, in true 1990s style, is about the same size as our bedroom.  With a bit of space and a large mirror it is perfect for a little dance practice with an air microphone.  I'm not sure how long I've been practicing my Madonna moves to YouTube videos when I spy Jason standing at the bathroom door laughing.  This makes twice in one night I've been mocked because of Madonna.   

The Changing Face of Education

 Education is changing.  "The jobs your children may have one day probably don't even exist yet,"  Rynn's teacher tells a room full of parents in September.  Today I wonder whether the college education they may have in ten years may not exist yet either.

Last fall I straddled two very different educational experiences. With one foot soaking up a literature class under the ivy towers of Northwestern University,  I planted another foot in the world of community college online education. By taking an online Chemistry class I finally complete nursing school prerequisites.  With a box filled with chemicals, test tubes, graduated cylinders, and matches I set up a Chemistry lab in my kitchen.  I log on to the college's server once a week for a 'virtual lecture' with a 'white board' upon which the teacher works out chemical equations and answers our questions.  I scan homework and labs to upload, complete a group project, and turn chemicals blue with fire in my kitchen.  All this is accomplished without ever laying eyes on a human being.  Convenient?  Absolutely.  Logging in from the waiting room of the hospital when Jason was sick, I am able to multitask by learning acid/base calculations, take a quiz, and watch daytime TV all at the same time.  Did I learn Chemistry?  Sort of.  Did I learn and understand it to the depths that I probably could have in a classroom?  No.  Is this the way of the future?  Many would say- yes.