Brain complexity fascinates me. I like how different senses trigger different memories. For example, whenever I eat cinnamon rolls, I think of my Grandpa Archie, the first person I ever saw make cinnamon rolls from scratch — and he was blind, so he did it all by feel and from memory. When I listen to Hampton String Quartet, I’m transported back to the table, strewn with flash cards, textbooks, and notebooks, where I spent hours studying for calculus finals in the basement apartment we lived in my sophomore year in college. Continue Reading >>

Back in May, Ian and I made the difficult decision to not send Benji to in-person YMCA camp this summer. At the time, COVID cases were slowly but steadily trending downward and things looked better all the time. Even so, we opted for safety (in retrospect, a very good idea) and signed up for the YMCA’s new “Camp in a Box” day camp option.

Now, for six weeks starting this week, the YMCA provides us with a box of supplies and activity instructions. Twice a day Monday through Friday, Benji participates in a Zoom call with camp counselors, who play games and do activities pertaining to the week’s theme. The rest of the day he can choose what activities from the box he wants to complete. Most require little adult intervention after he gets started. There are usually two main activities per day: One thematic activity, like making a superhero cape; the other just fun and interesting, like making a straw rocket. Continue Reading >>