After dropping off Charlton to preschool, we took off for San Francisco. Our destination was the Legion of Honor, an art museum located in one of my favorite areas of San Francisco, the Presidio. We decided that on our way there we could check out the Painted Ladies, the colorful houses that represent an interesting area of the California history. Interestingly enough, the Painted Ladies is a term used to describe fancy houses built in Victorian style, and this kind of architecture is found throughout San Francisco. However, these particular houses found across Alamo Square on Steiner Street are the most well-known ones, especially after the show Full House made them popular by using the view of one of the houses in their opening credits. These houses were built in the early 1890's. Gillian and I had fun walking around, talking, eating some snacks, and taking pictures.
When we arrived at the museum, we discovered that the new exhibition brought from the Louvre with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's treasures wasn't open yet. We decided we would bring the family next week, so instead of perusing the museum indoors, we found ourselves enjoying the outdoor views that this area has to offer. The day was full of sunshine and warmth, and Gillian and I really had a blast exploring, and talking.
The next stop for us was a little hidden treasure for all of Star Wars die-hard fans, as Gillian truly is. Still in Presidio, the Letterman Digital Arts Center, a Lucasfilm headquarters, offers a lobby full of Star Wars memorabilia with a statue of Yoda greeting you at the door. As I learned later, it is interestingly enough the only Yoda statue in the world. This was so much fun for Gillian. The costumes of Darth Vader and Boba Fett were used in the Star Wars series. This was Gillian's favorite part of our date so far.
If you were wondering about the name (Letterman Digital Arts Center), it was named after an army doctor. The Presidio used to be a Spanish Fort, which was then seized by the U.S military after the Mexican-American war. It stayed a military base known for its military hospital, the Letterman Army Hospital, till the 1950's. It was named after a Civil War medical director, Jonathan Letterman, who is considered as the founding father of military medicine. The hospital was in working order till 1995. In 2002, George Lucas started building his headquarters on the same site, but kept the name to honor the history behind the buildings.
Not to leave Star Trek die-hards out, Presidio, and in particular the military base we spend our day in, was the location of Starfleet Academy (in the fictional universe of Star Trek), and opposite Presidio, in the Marin Headlands, where Gillian's class was having their camp out and we visited last year, was the location of Starfleet Command. Also, several scenes of the movie Star Trek IV were filmed in this area. I hope this little trivia appeased my Star Trek fans.
After Gillian looked at everything with particular attention, we took to the outdoors and enjoyed the gorgeous park located nearby. It took us two minutes to get form the busy side of San Francisco to this park, but you wouldn't know that there was a crazy life outside this park as one wondered around enjoying the serenity of the park, the greenery of the trees, the calming sound of the fountains, and the happy laughter of the children enjoying a day with their grandparents.
We had some lunch, took some pictures, basked on the sun, told stories, shared favorite books, asked serious questions (and I tried to answer them the best I could), and then begrudgingly drove home. It was time to get on the road before the traffic home got too congested and we were late on picking up the boys. Fortunately, we had planned our day well and we were home within 40 minutes.
Elijah does the same thing, but because he works, he tries to keep his dates short and they usually involve going to the store, serving others, playing outside, or visiting friends. My kids love these too. If my kids have a great time talking to me about books and art and music, they also love conversing with their dad on family history, gospel topics, and 'grown-up' issues. And they ask a lot of questions to both of us!
I love it that the channels of communication are openly flowing from both sides. Parenthood is always hard, I've realized, whether you are trying to figure out how to raise babies, toddlers, or trying to learn how to teach your growing kids. I'm glad however that our kids feel comfortable asking and talking to both of us. A step in the right direction that hopefully will facilitate dealing with them throughout the teenage years.
For now, I can't wait what the next of the year has in store for us and our children.
What are some specific things that you do to strengthen your bonds with your kids?
