Things I Learned This Summer

Hello and welcome to a rainy Saturday (or, so says the forecast) here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is August 22nd.

School is on the brain. With the oldest packing up and heading out on her post-secondary adventure tomorrow, the Second Oldest and WAKWIR beginning high school cross country practice, and my own mental reminders to buy shoes, glasses, and the final bits of school supplies, how can I not think about it? While folding laundry one morning, it occurred to me that I learned quite a few things this summer. Ruminating further over washing dishes, I created the following list for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Things I Learned This Summer

• I don't understand my teenagers' sense of humor.
• Kids insist that Reddit is "really bad" and won't go into specifics. Personally, I have found it very useful.
• My son can fix the cellphone my husband broke.
• The Honey browser extension is pretty slick. (Yes, my kid set it up.)
• Czech language! I have a 74-day streak on Duolingo.
• Trampoline tricks: butt bombs, flips, cannon balls, and the pony.
• Trampoline games: crack the egg, dead man,  tag, battlefield, and poop roll.
• Don't touch a white-marked tussock moth caterpillar!
• How to start a campfire.
• How to block knitted items.
• How to write "The Other."
• Black women's stories.
• Geometry Dash (like)
• Minecraft (don't like)
• How to make homemade marshmallow fluff.
• How to make homemade hummus. (Without tahini!)
• Snapchat
• Snapchat filters
• The entire backstory to Borderlands 2.
• The mom glare actually works.
• Signing off as "Mom" still feels weird. Is it Mom, Mommy, Mama, or Maminka? 
• How to look deeply into my younger children's eyes. I had been so busy pre-pandemic. No, "busy" is too simplistic and takes the onus off me and places it on an external cause. More accurately, I was consumed with my own interior world - my own thoughts, ambitions, and projects. I was parent coasting, just skimming the surface, covering the necessities and bare essentials. Now, I look deep into my children's eyes (especially the little ones), see their little souls, and revel in the essence of their being. I recall that question lovers ask when they first fall madly in love. "Where have you been all my life?" In my mind, the children answer, "Right here, Mama. I have always been right here."
• Don't glue things to the wall. (I assumed, the Second Grader tried and confirmed.)
• How to use phrases like "bruh" and "whatevs"  which the kids promptly ask me not to use.

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

1963 - First Person to Enter Space Twice

The record was set by Joseph A. Walker, a United States Air Force Captain, and a fighter pilot while flying the X-15, an experimental hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. The X-15 was a joint venture between the US Air Force and the NASA. Not only did Walker became the first person to enter space twice, he also was the first person to take a spaceflight to an altitude of 67 miles (108 kilometers) in the 12-minute long flight.

1962 - France’s President Charles De Gaulle Survives an Assasination Attempt

The Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS), a French far-right organization tried to machine gun Charles De Gaulle while he was riding to the airport with his wife. The assassination attempt was led by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry, an officer in the French Air Force. Bastien-Thiry and the OAS were unhappy about De Gaulle’s role in allowing Algeria’s independence. It is thought that the car De Gaulle was riding in, a Citroen DS 19, was partially responsible for saving his and his wife’s life. After being caught, Bastien-Thiry was the last person in France to be executed by a firing squad.

1922 - Irish Politician Michael Collins is Assassinated

A member and leader of Sinn Fein, a political party that advocated complete Irish independence from Britain, Collins was shot dead in an ambush. This was only a few months after he had been appointed as the Finance Minister of the Irish Free State.

1851 - The First America’s Cup is held

The cup is awarded to the winner of a race between sailing yachts. Thought to be the oldest international sporting trophy to be still awarded today the cup’s name was changed from Hundred Guinea Cup to America’s Cup after the name of the yacht that won the first race on this day. Led by Commodore John Cox Stevens, America participated in a 53 nautical mile race around the Isle of Wight in England.

1779 - James Cook Lands on Possession Island

British explorer James Cook reached the island, which is off the northern coast of Queensland Australia, 2 years after he had set sail on the HMS Endeavour from Plymouth. James Cook named the area New South Wales and claimed it for the British Crown.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1928 - Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer

1904 - Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, diplomat

1893 - Dorothy Parker, American poet, writer

1880 - George Herriman, American cartoonist

1862 - Claude Debussy, French composer

Remembering You

2011 - Jack Layton, Canadian politician

1553 - John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English Admiral, politician

1485 - Richard III of England

1358 - Isabella of France

1241 - Pope Gregory IX

Keep learning and make it a great Saturday!

Kim