Sorry for the long delay. Kina infected our entire house with the worst flu of our entire lives. I’ll just give you the whole series at once, so as not to overwhelm your pity generators. Thank you for your subscription and your patience.
The Cooties Are Upon Us
Inevitably, the fever of the month visits its wrath upon our beloved publisher’s immune system
It started small. At this point we figured this would be a 24-hour affair. How wrong we would be!
Gas-obsessed friends take stock of recent belch history
There is a whole oral history that Kina and Amelia have—that each of them can recite—of all the burps they have shared in their friendship, but I have never successfully transcribed it. I promise to do so whenever I can.
Kid makes wish for new year, asks for eternity spent with parents
This is the first time Kina has really given voice to the wish and worry about how finite our time together might be—both in our home and in our existence. It plucked a string in me that I haven’t let go of since she said this. I also want an infinity life with her—and with Laurea—and it’s making me treat this moment that we do have more tenderly.
Confident publisher appreciates her own vibe, is unapologetically intense
I sort of forgot to write specifically about our visit to the Noguchi Museum, and so I kind of made the whole issue about it. Look how big she is! Look at that energy!
Recess options during cold snap are slim pickings; Wildkratts wins the day
The kids have not gone outside for recess all week, but Kina hates soccer more than boredom, so she’s been going to the auditorium and watching shows about wild animals.
I really had a good run there at the beginning of the trip, didn’t I? Anyway, here’s the rest—including today’s Daddy-flew-home-with-food-poisoning edition.
Visiting Crustacean Expert Dwells in the Tidal Pools with Dozens of Hermit Crab Friends
After examining local crab colony, she declares specimens “so cute!”
If there is one takeaway to be had from this trip, it’s that Kina will be majoring in marine biology.
Sardines, jellyfish run close second in race for Kina’s oceanic fave
When I was her age, I was starting to be fascinated by ocean life. I didn’t get to pet a ray, though, which is why she will become a famous marine biologist and I will have to keep working in journalism.
She cozies up with Lala to watch Frozen 2, remembers life as 5 year old
It’s starting to be the case that Kina will have memories that are sharp enough and distant enough to be nostalgic about. For a long time, the memories she had of herself from three years earlier were too faint to mean much; at the same time, the crisp memories were too recent to feel sweet. Now she can decide randomly on Christmas to sneak away with Lala into her bedroom to watch Frozen and remember what it was like to wear Elsa dresses and sing “Into the Unknown” all day. I miss those days, too, but it is pretty special to watch her memory come to life.
