Law and Order: Whoville

Another one Katie would have loved:

If you don't get it, go watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas immediately! (Yes, there are grown-up Americans who have never seen it. We don't know how they've survived to adulthood without having done so, but they do exist.)


Merry Christmas to all, eh?

Three Filled

I’m a day late getting this posted, but yesterday Katie would have turned 27. (If you don’t understand the title, it’s time to (re)read Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land—“three filled” is 27.)

We were watching the news a couple of weeks ago, a segment on the fires that destroyed Paradise, California, and Anita commented, “We’re so lucky!” Her point was that we generally don’t have natural disasters like fires and tornadoes here.

Of course she then stopped and asked, “Are we lucky?” Because of course “luck” comes in various flavors and degrees. And that question has been pinballing around my head ever since.

Overall, I think we have been pretty lucky. We have each other, and a very comfortable life, and that’s more than far too many people can claim.

But most of all, we were lucky to have almost 19 years of Katie.

And that’s my thought for the day.

Four million-odd minutes

(Yes, stealing a meme from Rent.) Eight years. Only yesterday, yet forever ago. A hard day.

I spent most of the day running judging again at a FIRST LEGO League Regional tournament. I've written about FLL before, but I’ll say it again: all of FIRST is great. It has programs for kids from 6 through high school.

And beyond: today’s overall champion was an all-girl team (for which I always have a soft spot, for obvious reasons), coached by five young ladies who are themselves FLL veterans. Back in the day, they won a Regional, then States, and went to Nationals. Now they’re giving back, and it shows.

As head judge, I have the luxury of floating around throughout the day, and I sat in on several judging sessions. Not to check up on anyone—we’ve got a crew of veteran judges who sure don’t need my help!—but so I can see a bit of the teams in action. Among others, I managed to catch both the Project and Core Values judging for this team, and so when my judges came back and rated them #1 in both of those categories, I could appreciate why.

As I said, a hard day, but the tournament was therapeutic for me. It’s always great seeing these young kids competing and having a ball, and reminds me of happier times with our girl.