The best part of my day:

Each morning, I hear the distinct pitter patter of Elliot’s footsteps as he runs from his bedroom to my bedroom. It’s 5:30 AM. He stands in my doorway, in the dark, until I say “Come, come”. Then we cuddle and doze in and out of sleep for another hour.

I want to sincerely apologize for the canceling of the Purple Room for two days due our Elliot’s positive COVID test. I wish things had turned out differently. Anyway, thank you for the Zoom class this morning and the care package.

I’m attaching a photo of a game that Elliot and I play called “Dinosaur Class”. You might have seen us playing it on the Zoom call today. We arrange lots of small, plastic dinosaurs in a circle and give each one a name from a child in the Purple Room. Then we place two larger dinosaurs at the front — they are Ms. Mirel and Ms Marie. This game was Elliot’s idea, and he loves acting out events from school (some of which are clearly make-believe, but some I think may be real).

He seems to re-enact both fun and “challenging” things (like so-and-so pushed this dinosaur, what should the teacher do?), but also mundane things like me coming to the school to pick him up at the end of the day….

The smaller, red stegosaurus is always Elliot. The larger, green stegosaurus is always me. One of the games is the daddy stegosaurus ringing the school doorbell. Then one of the dinosaur teachers calls out, “Elliot, your daddy is here!”

Eric Jung
781-626-0844

Yesterday, Elliot tested positive after Karolina told me max and her mother tested positive on Thursday night. Elliot has no symptoms, except that last night he said, “It smells like Tiny Town ice cream.” We had no ice cream and were not so Tiny Town. COVID is known to affect the sense of smell.

I tested negative.

The first pig heart (genetically modified) has been translated into a person. This is incredible! I think of my dad, Grandpa Moe, and Uncle Elliot who would have been saved by this. In fact, Uncle Elliot would have been saved if he had gotten just a pig heart valve transplant which they apparently did successfully 2 years after he died in 1969 (or was it ’67?) and has been commonplace for a long time.

I understand the caution around COVID. But isn’t this a little strange? Elliot and Shimon play together at school every day. They are in the same class, the Purple Room.

This is actually Elliot’s 2nd time in the Purple Room. The first time was March – May, 2021 with kids a little older than him (he was moved up from the Silver Room early). Now the rest of the Silver Room moved up to the Purple Room in August, 2021. And here they are, but one of the teachers changed a few days ago. It’s now Miss Marie & Ms. Mirel.

Ask of Jan 3, Elliot has had 35 swimming lessons and is level 4. He loves it. I can see the sense of accomplishment and pride. He started July 15 and would say, “I can’t! I can’t!” when asked to let go of the pool edge. He would not even go into the water without me, even with Bowen right next to him. And now he’s level 4, can swim/float almost the entire length of the pool, and looks forward to going.

“Hey Daddy! I didn’t pee in the bathtub!” after peeing in the toilet.

I hugged him and told him how proud I am.

Whatever has the nature to arise will also pass away. — Buddha

What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say. — Emerson

We must not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time. — TS Eliot

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. — Einstein

Hope is fear in disguise. Let go of both. — Sam Harris

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. — Carl Rogers

I called Karolina today (Christmas). She answered and was willing to give the phone to Max. We have not spoken or seen in each other in 20 days. We exchanged “Merry Christmas” greetings, and then…

Me: “What did you get for presents?”

Max: “Oh, clothes”

Me: “That’s it? No toys?”

Max does not say anything.

Me: “What was your favorite present?”

Max: “Probably the clothes.”

This is very unlike Max. I know he got things besides clothes. Why won’t he share?

I notice he is in Karolina’s car with Elliot, so I ask: “What are you doing today? Where are you going?”

Max: “Oh, we’re going away for about a week.” (He’s probably not correct about “a week” because I’m supposed to see Elliot on Wednesday. Today is Saturday).

Me: “That’s nice. Where are you going?”

No answer from Max. Again, this is very unlike Max. He’s hiding things from me, and I don’t know why. After some silence…

Me: “Do you want to see the new Matrix movie with me when you get back?”

Max: “Yeah, sure.”

In the background, Elliot is trying to talk to me. Max points the phone at him. Elliot says something about a Paw Patrol present he got. But Max points the phone back to himself before I could converse with Elliot. The whole conversation makes me sad. I am guessing Max has been coached to not share anything about his life with me.

UPDATE: I think perhaps Max did not want to say anything of substance because Karolina was in the car with him.

Elliot calls coyotes “Bi-Cody.” He’s been saying it for two days. I did not understand until he finally said “like a wolf”, pointing at a camera on the outside on the preschool.

Elliot and I bought a new Spiderman T-Shirt at Target the other day. He was so proud to wear it this morning that he would not allow me to put a sweater over it. He wanted to show all of his friends at school first, especially Eitan.

We went to school. At the door, I asked to speak to Miss Mirel or Miss Menucha, his teachers. Mirel came to the door. I explained the situation and handed her the sweater. “I’ll put it on him after his friends see his Spiderman t-shirt.”

When I picked him up in the afternoon, he was not wearing the sweater. Fortunately, it was balmy December afternoon in the low 60s, and he had been indoors.

“Soon Grandpa Marty and Noodles is going to be here in my house. And Pepe is going to say Noodles! You’re my best friend, yeah, Pepi can say that”

Elliot said that after I pointed out the photo of Grandpa Marty and Baby Noodles as a kitten.

Elliot LOVES his new 4-piece bedroom set. After getting home from a swimming lesson with Bowen, he was so excited to see his bedroom that he would not let me do anything else except go to his room first.

He loved his “big boy’s bed”, climbed in, and insisted I get into bed with him and read some of his favorite books, even though it is dinner time and not sleep time.

After dinner and a bath, he was again excited to get into bed. We read more books. I stayed with him until he fell asleep. He slept the whole night in his bed, with two small exceptions:

He woke up once, crying, calling for me. He’d had a bad dream and wanted a night light. He did not mind me leaving, going to my bed after he had a night light.

Later I heard him walking around my bedroom. I said, “Elliot, go back to your bed and sleep more.” And he did. No crying or pleading.

The next morning he told me he wants a Batman night light.