Safari Expedition

Fiona's class went on the zoo safari ride today, which meant they needed some parents to sit on the tram at the end of each row. Since I had no appointments in the morning and had the ability to make the time up in the evening, I took a job as tram barrier. That's Fiona with her friend Jaden.


Parents were told to arrive at 10:30. I showed up at 10:25 and was the last parent to arrive, which meant Fiona yelled at me for being late. Fortunately her teacher, Miss Holly, came to my defense by letting her know I was early.

Before I took her into school this morning, Fiona helpfully explained all the rules to me so I wouldn't get into any trouble:

1. Listen and do
2. No running or yelling (but pretend yelling is okay, and Fiona demonstrated how to pretend yell for me)
3. Be a friend

When one of the children breaks a rule, Miss Holly moves the child from green to yellow. A second violation moves the child to red. If you make it through the week with only one yellow, you get a treat (like a piece of candy or a plastic ring). Make it through on green the whole time and you get two treats. Fiona's gotten two treats every week so far this year; when she leaves the house on Fridays she usually announces that it's "Treat Day."


I think I managed to do the whole safari without breaking any rules, so we'll see if I get any treats.

Oh, and we saw giraffes and cheetahs and rhinos and elephants and warthogs. After the safari we stopped off to see the meerkats. And yet the children seemed most excited to alert Miss Holly to the presence of a spider web near the safari entrance. All creatures are equal, I suppose.

Sweet Moment

Barring a comeback that right now stands at something like a 3000-1 shot, last night was the final baseball game ever played at Yankee Stadium. I've written about this before -- I know the park I saw was never the "real" park from before the mid-70's renovations, but it was one of my favorite places in New York City, and it was always cool to look out and realize that you were looking at the actual spot where Gehrig or Mantle (or Rivera) played. It really is time for it to go, but that doesn't mean it isn't bittersweet.

Anyway, yesterday ESPN spent the whole day broadcasting from Yankee Stadium, leading up to the last game. Starting around 7pm they had a closing ceremony in which many of the most memorable players (or members of their families) took the field for one last time in the spot where they played. I watched while I cleaned up the dishes and Andrea drove her grandmother home (she'd come over for dinner).

We were getting toward bedtime, which for Fiona always means one 11-minute (or so) cartoon before she brushes her teeth. Lots of evenings in the summer I tease her, asking if she wants to watch baseball (since I usually have a game on), and she makes a face and asks for SpongeBob or WordGirl or whatever she's into that week.

The big moment at the end of the players ceremony last night was Bernie Williams's return to the stadium for the first time since he was forced into retirement at the end of 2006. Everybody loves Bernie Williams, and even more than Derek Jeter he was the star of those late 90's championship teams. So when Bernie took the field and the stadium erupted for a full two-minute ovation, it got a little dusty in our family room. I'm sure Fiona saw me wipe a tear away.

The ceremony wasn't over yet, but the players were done being introduced, so I turned to Fiona and asked her what she wanted to watch for cuddles.

"I want to watch this," she said. "I want to watch the Yankees."

I was taken aback. "Really?" I asked.

Fiona nodded. "I want to make you happy."

And so it got a little dustier, and Fiona and I snuggled together on the sofa while I pointed out some of the players (Scott Brosius, Dave Winfield, Whitey Ford) and told her about all of the amazing things that had happened inside the stadium, how no team had ever won so much as this team had won in this place.

Babe Ruth's now 92-year-old daughter threw out the first pitch, and I told her a bit about the Babe (she liked the name, of course), and then it was time for the game itself to start, which did mean time for bed. But it had been one of those moments I always hoped to have when I became a father.

Oh, and the team won and Mariano threw the last pitch, which made the whole evening perfect.

Loving School

Between Phelps and Bolt and the Clintons and Obama and Palin most of my non-work time lately has found me too distracted to blog about Fiona. But no news is good news here; we're two weeks into school and Fiona's loving it.

How can I tell? Andrea has to leave the house at about 7:05 a.m. and generally only sees Fiona for about 10-15 minutes before she leaves. That means it's just me, myself and I in the morning trying to get Fiona out the door in a timely manner. And in two weeks I have yet to have any trouble motivating her to go.

Other impressive returns on her new school:

• When I dropped her off for her first day, we talked in the car about how she might cry and how that was okay. So we walked in, I put her stuff in her cubby and signed the various forms that parents have to sign on day one, and when I hugged Fiona she whimpered slightly... but no tears.
  
• The children weren't supposed to go on a hike the first day because Miss Holly (Fiona's teacher) usually has to spend that day explaining the rules of the class. As it turned out, Fiona was the only student new to the school. And she picked up on the rules so quickly that the children were able to have a hike on day one.
  
• Fiona occasionally will tell us about her day. This may not sound earth shattering, but it's always been a game with her to announce "it's a secret" when we ask her about her day, and then we have to trick the facts out of her. With this school, she actually volunteers information because she wants to share.
  
• Last week I dropped her off, signed the attendance sheet, and went to the door to leave. Fiona came running over and grabbed me and pulled me back across the room because she wanted me to meet her friend Asher (a girl, in case you're wondering).
  
• After two days, Miss Holly announced to Andrea that "this one is definitely ready to read." Fiona makes an impression quickly.
  
• For years we've been picking Fiona up close to 6pm at her various schools and day cares. With Andrea's new job, she's able to pick Fiona up between 4 and 4:30 most days. Fiona has gotten upset with her mother for picking her up too early.

All in all, a definite win.