Old pals do five trips on kid coaster, beg operator for extra run
My inner ear cannot tolerate more than one round on even the tamest kiddie coaster anymore, but once the girls figured out they could just ride together, it was all over for the operator of Coney Island’s famed Sea Serpent.
Kina accidentally comes up with better lyrics for basic party anthem “Funky Town”
Once you hear “Funky Town” as “Pumpkin Time” you will never go back. I can tell you this with real authority, since I have not stopped singing it in the last two days (to Kina’s consternation).
Kina’s competitive streak emerges in full-blown naval conflict
Every time Gia or her sister Diane come by to babysit, they bring a new game for Kina to play. This is one of her favorite things about having a babysitter—and probably the only thing that makes it possible for us to go on dates without her. She has never met a game she didn’t like, and she somehow always wins. Now we have to buy Battleship.
Futura and Kina watch Descendants while Mommy and Daddy hide in room
They really thought midnights would come and there would be so much mischief, but at the end of the night it was just pizza and exhaustion—but fun exhaustion. More sleepover news in the Sunday edition.
Kid explains the wackiness she shares with Daddy as rudimentary blood curse
My blood child wants you to know that she painted all the clothes in this piece herself—and she did quite a good job, if I do say so. I’m particularly fond of my tie-dye t-shirt at top right, which she achieved through my sophisticated “accidentally paint too much and blot off” technique. Like father, like daughter.
Featuring cat eats and cat paws, it debuts at school fence at morning drop-off
I just want you all to admire my yellow shirt and red rose pin that caught the eye of a fellow school parent all the way in the East Village on the night of our first handshake while Laurea and I were on a date.
Cries on Daddy’s shoulder because Mommy can’t take her to school
It’s a pretty shocking thing, I imagine, returning from two weeks in the Philippines with your mother and dropping directly into the third day of school. Kina was fine on Monday, but I think she woke up on Tuesday realizing that she was going to be spending a lot less time with Mommy. This all led to a bit of a morning breakdown; we told her that I’d be taking her to school, and things got clingy. I eventually got her out the door, but she needed a little cry to come to terms with the many realities of September.
I was glad to be there for her, even if I’m not Mommy. I have my own signature moves, and they come in handy.
Parents gnash teeth as publisher enters third grade
Okay, now that we’re mostly back on track…
This is the fourthfirst-day-of-schoolpost in the history of the Daily Kina—technically the third day of school for New York City, but her first, since she was at the time tossing out flowers at a wedding halfway around the world. Kina came back from the Philippines about 7% more responsible than the day she left, and you could see that responsibility and independence with brilliant clarity as we took her to school yesterday. She waltzed into the gate without much of a fuss, barely looking back at us as she marched towards another year of education. The fact that this morning was more of an event for us than for her feels like a turning point for this publication.
I’m not ready to consider what that turning means.
Oh no! I am so far behind! Gonna give you a huge anthology post to catch up. tl;dr: When the post begins, it’s over a week ago, and Kina and her mother have returned to Manila from the islands. By the end, she’s a third-grader.
Sep 2: Publisher Thanks Mommy for Planning Trip, Declares It “Best Two Weeks of My Life”
In a summer full of best vacations ever, this one takes the cake
At this point, Kina’s barely halfway and already it’s the best two weeks of her life.
Publisher savors one final chicken soup at the Shang buffet
Our esteemed publisher is having an amazing time at her hotel in Manila, but she is on her way to an island. Departures are bittersweet, and soups are savory. Kina strives to prolong them both.
Philippines correspondent Laurea de Ocampo promises to file daily
As the day approached for Kina and her mother to leave on a two-week trip to the Philippines, it dawned on me that I have never been apart from Kina for this long, for as long as she’s been alive. It then occurred to me that I have not been apart from Laurea for this long, for probably as long as we have been married. I have spent a lot of time with these people; it is strange to be alone.
Usually, when I take a trip away from Kina, whoever is left behind with her edits and produces The Daily Kina while I am gone. There have been outstanding stretches of this publication for which I can take no credit at all; Kina’s grandparents and Laurea have all carried the sacred pens a few times in the last five years. This is the first time that I’m doing TDK myself while I’m apart from Kina.
We’re ready for this; Laurea has shared with me a note from her phone with pictures and quotes and situations that I can draw on (no pun intended) for each of the next fourteen editions. There’s no shortage of material, and Laurea gets to enjoy the same little chuckles I do while writing things down for the next day’s edition. That makes me happy, just knowing that she can hear Kina’s strange muttering as she goes through her day. It’s a great gift.
Daddy, himself an avid 3-point turner, looks on with pride
Being proud of my daughter banging her plastic motorcycle into reverse and pulling it around to the right is probably the most stereotypical dad feeling I have ever had.
Kina visits the Bronx gardens with Hannah and her family
It’s been fun this summer to see Kina spending time with the extended family of Hannah, her nanny and (basically) third parent. This trip to the Bronx Botanical Gardens with Hannah’s aunt and little cousin was the culmination of a week of adventures, and after all the activity, I think everybody welcomed a cup of energy tea.
Child declares that her stuffed animal collection is matriarchal
I didn’t think much about the gender of Kina’s stuffie collection until last night, when I found out that they were all female—a fact that didn’t seem controversial when it finally emerged. I was more curious about the fact that one (and only one) of her crystals was non-binary, but I can get used to that.
