Well, it’s about that time, isn’t it? You can see by the pictures that Ouest was pretty excited about meeting Santa this year. Lowe? Not so much. He said he would do it if he could just sit next to him. So what is the first thing Santa does? Grabs him and sets him on his knee. He looked so dejected.
We were already done taking our own photos when the photographer/kid-with-a-camera asked us if we were going to buy a picture. We felt like we should pay them somehow, so we said yes, and hustled the kids back out for one more. It took every bit of self-control Ali and I had not to laugh at our kids’ painfully forced smiles.
Our old running lights were all glazed and cracked, and we had a leak coming from somewhere near that middle one, so we decided to replace them all. It was about a two hour project, and was almost too simple to even be called a project, but I’m always happy to post any sort of win on the to-do list.
Fifty years old and yet the new lights even used the same holes. Maybe there really is a God after all.
Seriously, this is getting out of hand. Have I mentioned that we’ve also got an appointment to get “Brownie” the beach dog spayed? I am losing control of this house. But not so completely that any of these things are coming with us when we leave.
15 Comments on “Santa”
We teach our kids Stranger Danger and then we make them go sit near a weird looking guy in a huge white beard, hmmm. The kid’s letters to Santa were precious. Was he an English speaking Santa or Spanish speaking? How are you going to be able to live with those sad eyes when you drive away from that kitty and puppy?
Hi Judith, He spoke a little English and he was the same santa from a few years ago. He did a good job with the kids. As far as the sad eyes when we pull away next month – the cat has a home here at the campground. He is well taken care of, just enjoys spending some time with us too. Now Brownie the dog – I truly believe she is happy being a beach bum. She is friends with everyone and everyone seems to watch out for her. I don’t think she wants to be taken away from here. And I’m hopeful the others here at the campground will continue to watch out for her.
Someone else just mentioned Stranger Danger to us recently and got me and Ali talking about it. We’ve literally never told our kids that strangers are dangerous. In fact we are always telling them the opposite. When the beach is busy and the kids run off to explore, we tell them, “If you can’t find us you just stop and tell any of these people and they’ll help you find us, just like we would help if we saw somebody who was lost.” We encourage them to trust that people are good. The odds that our kids would walk right up to some dangerous predator are so infinitesimally small as to not even warrant mention. I have to wonder how this Stranger Danger thing ever came about. I can’t fathom that my grandparents would have said such a thing to my parents when they were kids in the fifties. This is not to pick on you, Judith. Stranger Danger seems to have just become a thing that we as North Americans have decided to live with—we’re trying to break away from it.
I love the Santa pictures and your children are just so special. I am enjoying watching them grow and I often tell people about the wonderful childhood they are having. I think you are giving them the best ever life and it shows in your pictures! On the Stranger Danger thing – my kids and my grandkids are grown so this is not an issue in my life but I do notice it when I speak to a young person or a child. They usually won’t even look at me and it makes me sad. I am not a bad person!! Who is to say what is the correct way to go with this stranger thing. There are a lot of perverts in this crazy world but you are correct that there are more good people than bad so your children’s odds of running into one of those sickos are pretty slim! Let them be free!! There are no freedoms in this country – at least Mexico seems better! Merry Christmas!
Face it, Pat! You miss being on a boat when replacing a running light — nautical terminology! — gets you going! 😀 The bus just doesn’t present the endless projects one always has on a boat (Thank God I hear you saying…)
Where is this Santa? Old Town? Great pictures!
On the Stranger Danger front, as you know we live on an island and there is a strong feeling of ‘ohana or extended family here, so everyone pretty much looks out for everyone else. Total stranger kids will come up to you if they’re hurt or need help and call you Uncle or Auntie and expect you to treat them like family, probably similar to Sayulita. My friends who are parents in California, though, have a completely different take, since kids go missing all too frequently and almost universally teach their children to be very wary or adults that walk up to them that they don’t know. Of course these are universally from urban areas. My friends living in the boondocks, like Yosemite or Tahoe probably have never felt the need to mention it to their kids. Your lifestyle is similar to the kids in Yosemite (most of whom are travelers) and Ouest and Lowe seem like similarly strong kids.
I am going to stick my neck out and comment on this “stranger danger” thing. I am a 68 year old father of three, grandpa of six. We are having our 50th wedding anniversary in June. I have lots of life experiences, and kids in town like the encouragement I give them to realize their potential. I can be sitting in the coffee shop talking with a table full of HS sophmores, and get glares from folks walking in the door! I have had women insert themselves into a group to shield these poor kids from an obvious potential Amber alert! After we get rid of the intruder, their actions become a topic for discussion. I have observed people at public places tightly gripping their kids with looks of near panic on their faces. And if another person uses the word “scary” this week….
I have used Pat and Ali as examples of people who have made real lives for themselves and those two precious kids.
I like the Bum’s approach to travel, parenting, and probably like many of you, the fortitude to do what it takes to live real lives.
I think lots of wisdom, gained over a lifetime, is not being passed on to younger folks, because of this paranoia. It is better in my opinion to raise, strong, smart children, than fearfull ones with a false sense of security.
I understand the desire to protect children, but it should not be at the expense of losing their childhood.
I’m getting off my box now.
Magic
Thank you, Ali and Pat, for caring enough to see that Brownie will be able to live out her years without any more unwanted puppies being added to the unwanted canine population. It’s difficult in a Roman Catholic country like Mexico to get people to understand that spaying and neutering isn’t “abortion” and that you’re not “interfering with God’s will.”
The number of unwanted dogs and cats euthanizedin in US kill “shelters” every week is more than 46,000 according to Humane Society figures . . . that’s 2,400,000 every year, or about one every 13 seconds. A little human responsibility would go a long way toward ending this needless suffering.
Again, thank you!
TJ
Yes yes yes! Even one beach dog spayed is a wonderful thing. Good for you, Bums, good for you! And I’m with you on the stranger danger thing. I am not a parent, but I love that you are more trusting. Most people ARE good, and I find it very sad that most children in the US won’t even smile at me once they reach a certain age and are taught that strangers are bad. Here in Mexico, the children are much more likely to break out into a warm smile if you go first (since they can be a bit shy at first, especially where gringos are concerned). I love that.
Those numbers are crazy. I cannot even imagine why there would be so many unwanted pets in the U.S. Come on people! I used to love it when Bob Barker would say, “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” It is really easy to fix the problem…all those animals, all that money = wasted.
If anyone wants to help a wonderful organization (I know there are many in your own cities) – please do.
http://sayulitanimals.com/donate-now
Happy Holidays!
That cat is awesome.
Thank you for helping control the pet population. If there were more people like you we wouldn’t have the problems we have with the high euthanization of pets.
You guys are so perfect as parents. Not only do you both love your children more than life itself, you let them have a sense of freedom at even such a young age. I truly think you both are amazing people in that regard, but your parenting style is very similar to how I have raised my daughter and am raising my son as well. I agree with you both, that this whole ‘stranger danger’ crap is pathetic , I mean, there are sick people out there, but if our kids run into them, they will tell us, or another good person in the street, before they get into any harms way. The truth is, the culture of fear in regards to parenting is out of hand in the western world, and the kids are the ones who disbenefit most. But either way, be cautious, just not like a paranoid robot on steroids.!. Trey.
I love that you’ve taught your kids not to fear strangers. Thier lifestyle would lose so much of its joy if they mistrusted everyone. And if people feel the need to make their children fearful then they should consider that statically speaking, our children should be much more wary of people they know and are supposed to trust than strangers. Although I guess “Creepy Uncle Fred Danger, Coach Jones Danger, or Father O’Mally Danger” doesn’t have that same mnemonic ring to it.
All the great photos and animals and what do I notice? Pat looks 10 years younger without the beard…
Lesson learned. 🙂