I assume it’s the norm these days for elementary schools to have some sort of faux-money merit system for their students. You often come home from school saying, “I earned some loot today!”
Based on last year in Kindergarten, as you spent it pretty much the moment you earned it, I figured you were doing the same this year; immediately spending it on erasers or bouncy balls or something.
But when you came home from school this Tuesday, you immediately announced to Mommy and me:
“I’ve got 100 loot now!”
You went on to explain there is a stuffed animal you were going to spend it on at the school store the next day.
And that’s exactly what you did.
Apparently, it’s not so common for most of the students in your class to save up 100 or more loot. But you did it!
So things were extra special when you were able to show us your new prize, and then on the same day, Mommy happened to receive some Pokemon-themed gifts from a co-worker who recently traveled to Japan.
You made it sound like that blue dog was the most expense thing you cared about in the school store. Now that you have obtained it, and you still have a few more months left of 1st grade, I wonder what will be the tangible motivation for saving up more loot.
Of course, the fundamental psychological part of this story is not that you got earned a stuffed animal at your school.
Instead, it’s that at your school, you have done a consistently great job of behaving and getting your work done.
The blue dog reinforces that fact. The blue dog serves as a trophy for you being a good citizen in your class.
Wikibuy partnered with bloggers such as myself for this program. I received monetary credit for my time, creativity, and SEO platform. I was not told what to purchase nor what to say about any product mentioned in these posts. Wikibuy believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Wikibuy’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines, and social media engagement recommendations.
I wanted something that was rugged, understated, and practical. When I did find one that came close to my idea of what I believed I was looking for, it was a bit more than I was willing to spend.
But all my dreams came true this week when the folks at Wikibuy reached out to me and offered me a $75 credit to spend on anything I wanted, in exchange for spreading the word about Wikibuy and including a link back totheir site.
Wikibuy operates as a website and Chrome extension that finds you the best deals across the web on products you already are looking for. They don’t sell the products, they just match you with the best prices.
I immediately agreed, yet I figured most of the 75 dollars would go towards the backpack. Fortunately, I was way wrong.
That’s amazing because all the other bags I had found on my own were easily double that amount. With the remaining stipend Wikibuy gave me to promote their website today, I ordered a backdrop to start using for my YouTube videos. You should start seeing it displayed in my upcoming videos within the next couple of weeks.
So, back to my backpack; it is everything I was looking for. It’s perfect for my needs.
Our family travels from Tennessee to California (where my wife is from) once a year. This will be my carry-on. I can easily toss it under my seat on the plane and not have to deal with awkwardly stuffing it in the overhead bin.
Plus, we go on a few other road trips each year as well; like to Florida or Kentucky or North Carolinaor Georgia for a mini-vacation. I will cram as much of my stuff as I can into my bag.
And as opportunities are increasing for me as a freelance writer and videographer for other companies, this backpack will easily store my equipment; including my laptop and tripod.
I am not a suitcase kind of guy. I prefer everything to be compartmentalized and easily accessible. To me, that’s an important element in how men are wired.
This backpack is an extension of my identity.
Of course, I will point out the underlying irony that a “family friendly” daddy blogger is promoting a “military assault” backpack.
Oh well. The only “weapon” I’ll be hauling in it to “shoot” anything with will be my Canon PowerShot G7 X camera.
It always bothered me on Full House, how the Tanner girls all had blonde hair and blue eyes, yet their dad, played by Jewish-American actor Bob Saget, had dark hair and eyes. The girls’ mother was of Greek descent; we know this because of their uncle Jesse Katsopolis.
Then, to further this unlikely concept, when Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky had twins, their boys had light skin along with blonde hair and blue eyes. One fan theory on the Internet speculates that it was Uncle Joey who was the true father of all 5 kids.
And while that is funny to think about, I now have come to a full understanding of how dark featured parents (like my wife and myself) have children with noticeably lighter features (like our kids).
We have to keep in mind that we adopt half of our DNA from our father and half from our mother, but in the 50% from each parent, it’s a random amount from each.
So it’s this simple, even if there is less “blonde hair, blue eye” genes in the parents, their own children may feature that “hidden” DNA. This also explains how different siblings can look from each other.
To help bring this story to life, below is a breakdown of my own DNA, according toMyHeritage. My maternal grandmother was Mexican and my maternal grandfather was Italian. My mom’s DNA test results showed only 2% Italian, but 15.2% Sephardic Jewish and 14% Middle Eastern. While I definitely received a large amount of DNA from the Mexican side, I adopted absolutely no DNA from the Italian side; which now we realize was a Jewish-Middle Eastern mix.
My DNA:
37.4% North and Western Europe (Germany, France, The Netherlands)
31.8% Iberian (Spain, Portugal)
21.6% Native Central American (Mayan, Aztec, etc.)
6.1% East Europe
2.3% Balkan
0.8% Middle East
Now let’s take a look at my wife’s DNA. Her mother, like mine, is also half Italian. From my wife’s DNA test, we learned that in addition to being Italian, my wife is a decent amount Greek.
My Wife’s DNA:
31.8% England
23.9% Scandinavia
20.1% Greece
7.8% Balkan
5.8% Italy
3.9% Finland
2.7% Ireland, Scotland, Wales
1.9% North Africa
1.4% Ashkenazi Jewish
0.7% Nigeria
But when you break down the most abundant DNA showing up, you’ll see how our kids ending up getting the lighter features. Below are the results of me adding together the DNA from both my wife and me, then dividing it by two. I have ranked the results beginning with the most prominent. The DNA in italics are from my side, the DNA from my wife is in bold font.
Our Children:
18.7% North and Western Europe (Germany, France, The Netherlands)
15.9% Iberian (Spain, Portugal)
15.9% England
11.95% Scandinavia
10.8% Central American-Mexican
10.05% Greek
5.05% Balkan (3.9% Balkan + 1.15% Balkan)
3.05% East Europe
2.9% Italian
1.95% Finland
1.35% Ireland, Scotland, Wales
0.95% North Africa
0.7% Ashkenazi Jewish
0.4% Middle East
So in theory, our kids largely show the German-Dutch-English-Scandinavian genes, while the Spanish-Central American-Greek-Sephardic Jewish-Middle Eastern are more hidden.
Even still, I won’t be surprised, as our kids get older, that they will begin showing more of the rest of their unseen DNA.
I now have peace with why the kids of Full House look the way they do. If you’re curious about your own DNA, you can do like my wife and I did and purchase a kit fromMyHeritage.
Disclaimer:
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I was definitely worried about Grandma’s timing in arriving at our home in Tennessee, as she was preparing to fly here from California.
Just a few days earlier, Mommy and I had to take you to the Emergency Room twice in the same day for your 106 degree temperature, as you were suffering from the flu.
My biggest concern is that Grandma would come all the way out here, only to not be exposed to our normal jolly little Holly.
Fortunately though, just as Grandma was coming in, your symptoms of the flu were on the way out.
I noticed right away how quickly you were drawn to her. Despite us only getting to see her about twice a year, you treated her as no stranger.
What really amazed me was on the 2nd day of her visit, you spent a solid two hours just chilling with her in the living room, playing with your toys. You never once needed Mommy or me.
I definitely noticed that you adopted a certain energy from Grandma. It was like a switch was turned on whenever you were around her.
You just wanted to show her what a sweet little playful granddaughter you are. It was as if you wanted to make sure Grandma got her money’s worth out of her cross-country trip.
Though you’re too young to process that Grandma is actually Mommy’s Mommy, it’s like somehow you already understand this.
You instinctively know that she is a very special person in your life. It helps that her personality perfectly compliments yours.
I am confident you could have spent all day with her on the living room floor, with just your plastic tea party set and a baby doll to serve as entertainment.
You typically are reserved around people you don’t see often.
I am taking a moment to deliberately freeze this moment in time; as if to keep you this age long enough for me to process the concept.
It is clear to me that you are in a transition between two different stages of boyhood.
You’re old enough to recognize that “Sesame Street is for babies”, yet you will happily watch it alongside your sister, while giving critical yet intelligent commentary on the plot line.
You’re old enough to finally stop spending all your birthday and Christmas money on stuffed animals, yet you genuinely celebrate receiving a new one as a gift.
You’re old enough to walk across the street to catch the bus every morning to school, yet you still can’t tie your own shoes.
Speaking of shoes, it’s as if you’ve still got one foot in the world of Young Boyhood but now have the other foot in the land of Middle Boyhood.
I feel like I’m even catching a glimpse of your early teen years, when it will no longer be cool to be seen in public with your dad.
I keep that in mind, even now, knowing there are times when I need to give you space; yet the very next day you may be very needy of my attention.
It’s obvious to me that you have gained a sense of your own identity at a much younger age than I did. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I feel you’ve already formed the confidence in yourself that I didn’t gain until junior high.
Perhaps I feel that this is one of those fleeting stages in your life, where if I’m not careful, it will already be gone before I had a chance to acknowledge it.
So I’m acknowledging it.
Before too long, you’ll be openly mocking Elmo and tying your own shoes.
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