Appreciation for Leap Day!

I love leap Day. 

It's a day that is "special" for scientific reasons as opposed to other days that have been deemed special for historical reasons (I'm fine with those), religious reasons (not my thing), or commercial reasons (worst of all). Importantly, as far as I know, the main stream public has not yet widely adopted any particular Leap Day rituals; no one expects me to engage in any pre-determined behavior on this day. 

This morning, I was reflecting on how small we are; one recently evolved species, on one little planet, revolving around a sun that seems old to us but is a relative newcomer to the galaxy. At the same time, I was struck but how great we are in that we have somehow figured out that our planet is orbiting around the sun, and that we spin on our axis some 365.24 times for every trip around the sun. It's almost unfathomable to me that we know these things.

As depicted in the graphic above, the earth completes 365 spins (days) in fractionally less time than it takes us to complete a full orbit (year) around the sun. We all know this is why we need to add a "leap day" every 4 years to approximately keep our calendar system on track. But this is only an approximation. 

We also skip leap year about once every 100 years to fine tune the adjustment. Sadly, this will never happen in my lifetime; the last "skip" was in the year 1900, and the next will be in the year 2100. I am OK with that though, I suspect the whole thing will be infused with commercially-driven rituals by then anyway.

5-Day Run

Here is a brief description of a consecutive 5-day run of events that likely mean very little to anyone other than me.  That's the beauty of imaginary readers, I need never worry if my writing means anything to anyone else.

Feb 10 - The start of the Chinese New Year: Not a cause for major celebration among non-Asian descendants in the US, but kind of a big deal in Asia. I came to appreciate the Chinese calendar when I lived in Hong Kong, especially the Year of the Dragon. I recall being surprised at how being "a dragon" afforded me a degree of admiration that I did nothing to deserve other than being born in a particular year.

Feb 11 - The Super Bowl: Kind of a special day in America, especially for football fans but not only for football fans. I found myself home alone with a bowl of chips, a tub of guacamole, and a couple of cold beers. It was a good game and a great start to the Year of the Dragon!

Feb 12 - Lincoln/Darwin birthdays: Probably my two favorite historical figures, born on exactly the same day in history, separated only by a couple of hours and a few thousand miles.  Lincoln was a political mastermind at one of the most contentious times in US history, and laudably favored the people over any self-interest. Darwin was brilliant scientist who bravely championed empirical evidence over  the religious orthodoxy of the time. I always think of them both on 2/12.

Feb 13 - My 25th Wedding Anniversary: A milestone worth noting. We got lots of congratulatory messages, we went out to dinner, exchanged gifts, and saw a show. We discussed taking a trip but knew we would be pretty worn out from celebrating Lincoln and Darwin, so that's on hold for the time being.

Feb 14 - Saint Valentines Day: Everyone knows this one... no editorial necessary. 

Not sure if/when another prolonged streak of special days will hit, but I'll be sure to blog about it should one occur.

Year of the Dragon

 

 

Not sure if any of my imaginary readers pay attention to such things but today begins the Chinese New Year - welcome to the "Year of the Dragon". My year.

Here is some interesting perspective about we dragons (these indisputable facts may or may not have been conjured up by Chat GPT):

 

People born in the Year of the Dragon are believed to inherit characteristics such as strength, intelligence, and good fortune. The Year of the Dragon is often associated with power, vitality, and success, and it is considered an auspicious time for major life events such as marriage or starting a new business. Additionally, in Chinese culture, the Dragon symbolizes imperial power and is often seen as a guardian and protector. As a result, the Year of the Dragon holds cultural and symbolic importance, influencing various aspects of life including celebrations, traditions, and personal beliefs.

 

Not sure what the year has in store but it seems like maybe I should move to China, start a new business, and throw a big party... 

Who Would Want to Live in a Small Town?

 

I am aware of the drawbacks in small towns. Behavioral researchers will tell you that, across a small population, very few people are going to “make it big” and not many highly accomplished people will emerge as “aspirational examples” for others to follow. It's just math.

This reality can temper the dreams and ambitions of children growing up in small towns because, after all, aiming high and achieving greatly is less likely for those who have no examples to follow. Striving toward what you have seen around you is kind of the norm and aiming low can become a self-perpetrating cycle. 

Also, small towns can feel stifling. Rampant familiarity and a sense that everyone knows each other's business can really make one feel boxed in with no room to experiment or grow. Who would want to live like that? 

Then of course, there is this sort of thing: 

I recently traveled across the country and visited the small town where I grew up. Imaginary readers should note that it has been more than 30 years since I lived within a thousand miles of my boyhood home. One day during my brief visit, I ventured out to buy groceries in the middle of a snowstorm. Upon arriving at the store, I realized that I was not carrying my wallet and had no means of paying my bill. I didn’t want to drive back and forth unnecessarily through the snow and, as I pondered my dilemma, I spied a classmate from several decades ago. I approached her for help and, in true small-town fashion, she was handing me money before I could even finish explaining my predicament. I assured her that my brother would stop by to repay her in the days to come, but she waved off that suggestion as some sort of insult. 

Stuff like that happens a lot in small towns. It's a way of life that you can't get anywhere else. I think it's probably okay to forego worldly ambition in the name of simplicity and contentment, but I fear that all too often, the sparkle of the big city blinds many people from the humble glow of the small town. 

24 Years

At some point during my early years of fatherhood, I considered the 6-year gap between the birth of my oldest and the birth of my youngest child. I calculated that I would have 24 years of parenthood before they were all adults which seemed like a luxurious eternity, practically endless in its expanse. Definitely enough time to perfect the art of raising children.

I wrote about this before, at the ten year mark with my "A Decade of Parenthood" post. At that point, I admitted to not knowing much about parenting, but I still thought I would learn it all eventually. It also seemed to me that I had all the time in the world to do so. Wrong and wrong.

By the time any of my imaginary readers see this post, my youngest will be 18 years old; my 24 years will have completely elapsed. Along the way, I came to realize that there is no right way to parent; it's clearly an ongoing exercise of "make-it-up as you go". But I surely underestimated how quickly it would pass. The whole ordeal is like a runaway train that picks up speed every year... you can't slow it down and you can't catch up to climb back on. It just barrels down the track toward an uncertain future that arrives too soon. 

I guess you're never really finished parenting, at least not until your offspring begin providing more care to you than you do to them. In that regard, I'll keep my job for much more than 24 years. But it is already clear to me that parenting children and parenting adults are two different experiences that bring different flavors of satisfaction. For sure both are great, and both are fulfilling, but they are not the same.