Random Robservations piling up in the bottom of the notebook…
*If the mercury is going to remain at or below freezing, it sure would be nice to at least have some snow. Sure, we had a dusting this week, but aside from three consecutive weekends of the white stuff in December, we’ve had precious little snow cover on the ground this winter. And virtually none in January. Given that the 15-day forecast now stretches to mid-February and currently offers only one day with even a chance of snow, our window for sledding, snowboarding and the like is rapidly closing. But don’t put those shovels away just yet. Naperville typically gets 7.4 inches of snow in February, so we’ve still got some time.
*We’ve all felt the impact of divergent political views on family get-togethers, but it’s getting harder and harder to steer clear of such talk, given the volatility of what’s happening across the country. With executive orders, protests and the like becoming something of a regular occurrence, it’s nearly impossible for these topics to not somehow come up in social conversation. All of which has me not only fearing for the future of civil discourse, but even for mere discourse itself.
*One month into the year, you’ve either long-since abandoned your New Year’s resolutions or you’ve got enough time under your shrinking belt line to perhaps have turned your resolutions into habits. If you’re in the latter camp, kudos! If you’re in the former (which is most of us), see you in the resolution line again next year.
*The combination of a great promotional offer and our daughter’s 11th birthday last week combined to put a phone in her hands about seven months sooner than we’d planned. Though we usually aim to give our children a cell phone when they enter middle school, our daughter was thrilled to get hers early. This was the case when our elder son entered middle school in 2015, a timeline we planned to repeat with our daughter this fall and two years from now with the little guy. Instead, we now have two cell-phone carrying kids in the house, and still somehow we can’t ever seem to reach them when we need to.
*Speaking of technology, it was announced last week that the District 203 tech fee will increase from $29 to $50 next school year to cover the cost of the final phase of the district’s digital learning initiative. Once fully implemented, all District 203 students will have access to either iPad tablets or Chromebook laptops on a shared or individually issued basis. In effect, we’re paying for our kids to learn on iPads and computers, which can be fantastic educational devices. Which is funny, given we need to practically pay our kids to stay OFF their devices at home. Yet we still somehow can’t ever seem to reach them when we need to.
*Do you ever feel like you’ve exhausted all the jumpy-place and sports options for your kids’ birthday parties? If you’re looking for a different birthday party idea for your teen or tween child, let me suggest the hotel birthday party option. Just pick any local hotel with a pool and accommodations for your number of guests. Breakfast and complimentary drinks for the chaperons are a nice bonus. Hotels offer the space and entertainment options for a group of kids such as this that our homes might not. Our daughter enjoyed her hotel birthday so much last year that she did it again this year. And it wouldn’t surprise me if she decides she’d like to do it again next year too.
*When the girls were at their birthday party, I took the boys to see “The Founder,” the not-so-flattering story of how Chicago-based mixer salesman Ray Kroc raided the McDonald’s concept from its true founders, the McDonald brothers of San Bernardino, Calif. While watching what we all know today as the story of the “first” McDonald’s in Des Plaines, it struck me how we now take for granted the idea of fast food, paper wrapped burgers in bags and the uniformity of product. How quaint it is to be reminded that someone had to actually “invent” these things, even if that wasn’t Kroc himself.
*Speaking of food, Super Bowl LI is this Sunday, pitting the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons. That leaves you just a few days to plan your game-day spread. On the menu for us this year: smoked brisket, homemade chicken wings and jalepeno popper dip, among other New Year’s resolution-breaking delicacies. What’s on yours?
*Speaking of sports, the New Year also brought an uptick in youth practices and games for winter sports and the overlapping early training for spring sports. At our house, that’s three kids in basketball, the two boys in baseball and our daughter in softball. That’s in addition to religious education and other assorted clubs and activities. Rare is the night now that we don’t have at least two such events back to back. How long until summer vacation?
Rob Manker is a freelance writer who lives and parents in Naperville.
Twitter: @RobManker