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.
After initial bout of entry chaos, they traverse Park Avenue repeatedly while running errands; Mommy + Daddy’s butts pay the price as Kina simply chills
It’s pretty amazing that we’ve never visited Park Avenue during the Summer Streets weekends. If you are a New Yorker and ride a bike, there’s something pretty magical about being able to ride around the Met Life building and stare Cornelius Vanderbilt right in the mug. We must have ridden nearly twenty miles just going back and forth this weekend—it’s fantastic.
Adult humor a tedious mystery to neighborhood wack-a-doodle
I remember feeling this way when I was Kina’s age, and whenever I stumbled on something that made the adults laugh, I’d try to figure out why by just doing the same thing over and over until they stopped laughing. Now Kina does the same thing, and I honestly can’t explain why I think anything is funny, and I wish I could remember what was so funny about being a kid. dad
After surreal weekend in Philly, Kina’s subconscious wants just one more day
It was a great trip, this last weekend. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a day at Coney Island? That’s what Kina’s brain asked overnight. It sounded like a great extra Sunday.
Child waxes rhapsodic about City of Brotherly Love during first visit in three years
The last time Kina was in Philly, she was four years old. She didn’t know about the tacos and the stuffies and the sleepovers. We will have to go back again sometime before three years from now, if only so she can make good on the three hours of extra sleepover she didn’t get.
Publisher pays respect to local blueberry patch; parents abstainPair of boosting distance runners log 2/10ths of a mile at race pacepublisher enters into parasocial relationship with Atlantic Oceanmore deep thoughts about the ocean and Kina’s place in it
Child disappointed by lack of tiny tubs of strawberry Haagen Dasz
Setting aside the great tragedy of a beautiful walk to no strawberry ice cream, she and Nicky did in fact enjoy their annual trip to the Giglio and its raft of humanity.
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to a growing 7-year-old on vacation, every blanket and dune is a home
Apropos of just about everything, I would like to rewind the clock by two weeks and have Kina setting up her fort in Alameda again. Simpler, calmer times. Go for a walk on the dunes today, if you can.
Sometimes it’s the youngest girl in the family who has to be Mommy
Goodbyes are easier than they used to be, but it’s not that easy. Kina has learned enough about this to be ready with a hug and a cautious smile. It has been a good trip, with lots of good family time. Nothing to be sad about. But it’s sad, even so, sometimes.
Uncles Chuckie, Eric and JL play tag on Ocean Beach with Kina, then join her for dinner and ice cream before coming home for hide and seek and taking robotaxis away
All of the SF honorary uncles came by for games and food and Kina reading about Pusheen. It was ambitious and fun.
“I actually prefer the fog, really,” claims visiting newspaper magnate, cutting the nose and relentless clear skies of her east coast birthplace
“It is happening,” Laura has taken to saying as we ramble slowly through the easygoing lanes of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. By “happening”, she means that we are becoming enamored of the luxurious politesse and elevated bakery standards of this place. The organic produce is more organic than organic. The cars drive themselves, slowly. Nobody honks. Kina, too “is happening”, claiming that the ever-present and cooling fog of the Outer Sunset is preferable to the beating sun and frenetic energy of New York.
I have joked to Laurea that every trip we make to the Bay Area has three acts:
warms family’s San Francisco house by making parents chuckle
This may be my favorite game of hers yet. Turns out, the thing most likely to make me laugh is Kina laughing at herself, which means that I mostly end up waiting for Kina to crack herself up, which seems like a win-win scenario for all involved.
ungulates found nothing on grass by gate; Kina waves hi from distance
The deer usually come before Kina wakes up, but she needed to go to them today, instead, and found them grazing by the boulders outside the gate. It was magical, for her and me both.
Child and her deer buddy catch up on the mountain as fog lifts
In many ways, this entire trip is about Kina seeing her friend Bonnie the deer. She has been talking about Bonnie for weeks. The very first thing she did on the mountain after our drive from Alameda was call out to her friends until she came, young fawns in tow. Kina had apples, as promised, from the last time they met, and she will have apples again next year.
child makes it all the way to the west coast after only asking four times if we “are almost there”; the air is clear and kid is happy
I have gotten to the place with this project where I no longer feel compelled to bring five sheets of white construction paper in my suitcase for the Sunday Kina when I travel. This is much better.
As family decamps to airport hotel in preparation for flight to California, child celebrates the true arrival of summer
As an adult, it is easy to forget the eternity of summer vacation that we’re experienced (if we were so fortunate) when we were children. For me, the weekend is not forever, but the second best thing is working from California while your kid has the forever weekend.
Mommy hopes school-age-to-snuggle ratio remains consistent
Catching up a bit here again, but the couple of intervening days since we published this issue have seen a steady increase in our very teenage child asking for very extra snuggles, so this is a trend worth noting.
Kina spies on local high schoolers for personal style inspo
When we asked Kina how she decided that she liked making rubber-band chokers, she said that she had seen “high schoolers” wearing them “and also flare pants”.
Our esteemed publisher looks ahead of the curve for fashion trends.
On long car ride home from beach, Kina and Futura inquire about “Real New Yorkers” and find ways to stay quiet in the car
The advantage that people born in the city of New York have in the debate about “real New Yorkers” is really unfair, says local dad who has lived in New York for nearly 30 years and was unfortunately not born here.
