4 in 1

Granty Grant Stuff
I had a couple of scholars out here last week so that we could all plan out a grant together. It was interesting and engaging. One way to deal with feeling intellectually lonely at my institution is to forge intellectual collaborations with people elsewhere, so that's what we're doing. They are smart and creative thinkers, so it's fun. By the end of 2 days working together, we'd hammered out the basics of the grant we'll apply for, one in which I am going to be the PI, so that means the bulk of writing it this fall will be on me. I'm not totally sure how I feel about that. Mostly good, I suppose. Then we celebrated with beers on the terrace.

We are So Predictable
Here is an article about gender variant boys. There's a lot of fuss and muss about boys who want to do girly things. Nobody ever cares about girls who like doing boyish things (thank goodness, since Nora is like that). I guess when a member of the suppressed and (perceived to be) inferior group acts more like a member of the dominant and superior group, people are cool with that. But when it's the reverse, people can't stand it and the thought of a boy in a dress gives everybody the willies.

No Fear
Milo can do the monkey bars all by himself! He's strong and fast. Yesterday we were at the park with a neighbor friend, a kid who is 8. That kid was too afraid to do the monkey bars even though he's twice Milo's size. Milo has no fear. This scares me as a parent but it's probably good for him to be so willing to test his limits.

Even Batman Uses the Bathroom
Nora was super clingy last week; it is just now starting to dissipate. She even wanted to be in the shower with me. If I'm not actively interacting with her at all times she'll complain that I never play with her. It's gotten better this weekend because they've spent most of their time playing with other neighborhood kids.

Last night, Nora was complaining about how she doesn't need to go to the bathroom (ever) and she thinks it's unreasonable that we make her go before nap and before bed. I said, "Well, when you're all grown up, you can go to the bathroom whenever you want. You can do whatever you want then. When you're grown up and have your own job and live in your own house and -- " and Nora interrupted me, irritated: "No! Mom! When I grow up, I'm going to be Batman!" "Fine. When you're Batman, you can go to the bathroom whenever you want." She thought for a second. "Does Batman go to the bathroom before he goes to bed?" I said, "Yes. Even Batman."