Monkeying Around

Happy Chinese New Year! I did not even eat Chinese food today but I should have since this is my year. Oh yes, I am a Monkey! That should be obvious with my love for monkeying around, my daily banana, my ability to throw a monkey wrench into everything... and my hairy legs. (In the "off season" anyway.)

What is in store for me and others born in 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004?

First, a little bit about the Monkey...

According to traditional Chinese horoscope, people believed that Monkey people may suffer misfortune in the Zodiac Birth Year. There are a lot of potential dangers, difficulties and losses in the whole year. Therefore, they need to be very careful all the time, especially when driving or getting sick. However, the opportunities also coexist with challenges in this year. They are provided with great chances to change their life thoroughly. They may get big breakthroughs or make rapid progress in work and study.

Sounds ominous and not all that fun. Let's get down to specifics for 2016. And you know these have to be true because they are on the Internet! (You can tell by the sentence structure that either these were translated or just plain poorly written.)

Career Ambitious goals, switching jobs... In 2016, the fortune in career is really unpredictable. Monkey people have a lot of ambitions in this year, and they try to realize them to change their current life condition. They may want to switch a new job, start a career on their own or pursue a high education. They are indecisive and hesitant, what makes them less concentrated in their present work. At last, they may achieve nothing in this year. Therefore, they are supposed to stay still in their old career and get improvement step by step, which could be a strong basis for the future development.

Wealth Handsome gain, spending problem... In this year, they can make a fortune easily, but could also run out of money soon. They have a thin awareness of financial management, and cannot take control of the spending problem. They also get a little luck in easy money, but it is better to avoid investing a great deal amount savings in business project. When lending or borrowing money, they should be very cautious, otherwise they may suffer financial woes. It will be quite helpful to make a budget before spending.

Love and Relationships Stable marriage, entangled relationships... Their fortune in relationship and love is favorable, but they are not aware of that. For the married people in Chinese zodiac Monkey sign, their relationship will be in a stable stage, but they may feel constrained. Nagging and complaining will trigger their fury. However, they would better behave patient about these, otherwise squabbles cannot be avoided if they fight back. For single people, they long for true love, but they are entangled in several relationships. Once they adopt a serious and sincere attitude towards love affair, they will gain a long lasting relationship.

Health Kidney disease possibility, regular exercise... Their health condition in 2016 is unfavorable according to Chinese zodiac analysis. Special attention should be paid to kidney and skin disease. For the old, once they get asthma, cough or pneumonia, they need to go to hospital at once. Meanwhile, it is suggested to take regular exercise to build up their bodies. In this year, they might be easily irritated, and that also results in some mental sickness. Maintain a peaceful mind and learn to forgive.

Luck Prediction for Monkeys Born in 1968: People at age of 48 (I'm still 47 right now!) will spend a stable year, for everything develops in their control. In work field, there may be insidious people playing tricks behind, so they should be cautious when they speaking. Direct squabbles should be avoided, and a modest attitude might be helpful. The best way to get rid of bad mood is to concentrate in work. More attentions should be paid to digestive problems. It is advisable to go on a light diet and avoid eating raw and cold food.

So, there you have it, my fellow 47.5-year-old friends. Money will come and go. Our relationships will be tested if we nag too much. We gotta watch our back at work. Our bodies are going to pot. And we are psycho.

Great.

Good thing I have the World's Greatest BFF to get my "new year" off on the right foot!

Monkey Momma

Have you checked your paper placemat lately? Today is the Chinese New Year! We now begin the Year of the Rabbit ... and just when I was getting used to writing Tiger on my check!

I wouldn't say I am obsessed with Chinese culture of late... just highly interested since the buzz about Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother began. Yes I said Tiger mother, not to be confused with Cougar moms. Sorry, guys.

I have not read the book by Amy Chua, but got a chance to read a lengthy piece about it (and more) in the Jan. 31 issue of Time magazine. The author calls herself a "Tiger Mom" because she was born in the year of the Tiger. If you pay attention to her mother skills, you might think of other adjectives for tigers including intimidating and ferocious.

The self-confession that caught people's attention was her story about forcing her 7-year-old daughter to practice piano for hours on end with no breaks for water or even the bathroom. She also admitted in her book that she has rejected homemade cards from her daughters if they didn't put enough effort into it and, on one occasion, called her older daughter "garbage" when she acted disrespectfully.

Not to defend her, but I have heard mothers call their children worse things than that. She does make some good points that caused me to pause a moment and think about how we are raising our son.

She points out that Western parenting (that's all of us) is shocking and horrific. In a recent interview, Chua said she couldn't believe "how much time Westerners allow their kids to waste -- hours on Facebook and computer games -- and in some ways, how poorly they prepare them for the future."

Raise your hand if you're guilty of that. Who isn't -- to some extent? I do agree with her contention that we (us Westerners) are so focused on self-esteem we do not prepare our children for real-world competition. Sure it seems "nice" to not keep score in a game when the kids are 5 or 6 years old and are learning it, but when everyone gets a ribbon for participating, what's to make these children strive for more? Even now, when Carter is on the competitive team for basketball, I wonder why they are bothering with games for 5th and 6th place. They still get a ribbon for that! (We have 2 of these at home!)

I wonder how his generation will know when they have truly been successful at something if they don't know what failure is?

Sorry, Ms. Chua, but as a Monkey Mom (yes, born in the year of the Monkey), I am guilty of trying to bolster my son's self-esteem when I can. And I don't feel bad about it. However, I do try to be realistic. He's not going to excel at everything he tries. He needs to know that and we (his Rabbit Father and me) need to know that -- and accept that.

When it comes to academics, we do have high expectations because we know he is quite capable.

When it comes to music, we don't require endless hours of practice each night, but he does have to practice. He accidentally acquired some natural talent with those brass instruments so we think he should honor the gift God gave him.

As for sports, that's a touchy one. He is capable but we often have to push him to practice so he can improve. When he does improve, he is so glad he put forth the extra effort. But it's taking that first step of pushing himself that takes our extra effort to begin with.

Chua said, "What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it." I tend to agree... but only to a certain extent. I can definitely say Carter had a blast last year during tournament baseball season when he finally started hitting the ball and making some plays! You work hard, you improve, it's fun.

But I also think the learning process can be fun, too. Sometimes there is a little joy when you finally just understand something -- even if you are not even close to mastering it. Take parenting for example. It's not always a barrel of Monkeys (or Rabbits or Tigers), but I wouldn't change a minute of it for all the chopsticks in China.

Would you?

Silver Lining

There are two facts that have been reinforced so far during these Olympic games. One is that I am too old to be staying up so late watching live coverage. Two -- and more importantly -- is that I am not only proud, but thankful, to be an American. Living in the Land of the Free.

Last night while watching the women's gymnastic finals, I was satisfied the U.S. women took home the silver. Based on their performance, they probably wouldn't argue they deserved better. The Chinese, however, would have accepted nothing less than another team Gold. Now I know why.

I learned a thing or two about China's program last night. For the women at least, the gymnasts are chosen for the program just out of daycare. The gymnastics program and quest for the Gold becomes their life. I mean literally. They have limited contact with family. They become a "ward of the state," so to speak.

Is a Gold medal that important it is obtained at the expense of family? At the expense of childhood?

I've heard of -- and seen -- pushy POAs (parents of athletes). Yes, it takes time and dedication to succeed at a sport, well, anything really. But I'd hate to be the parent of a child who was so goal-focused, they woke up one day and realized they're 18 and missed being a kid. (It's bad enough I wake up most days and wonder where my 30s went!)

As our first "real" football season gets under way, I'll be curious to see if I learn something valuable from the other parents. Or if my darn competitive instincts take over and I become one of those POAs. Let's hope we all remember that this is for the kids, not us, and just like with the Olympics, it's not a life-or-death situation where he must succeed.

This is America. Where we have the freedom of choices. And even have the freedom to fail.

Balancing Act

2008 is shaping up to be a big year. Somewhere between Leap Day and the presidential election will fall the Summer Olympics in Beijing. As much as I love the Olympics, I usually don't get fired up about them this early. That changed this week when we went to a gymnastics meet.

Yes, I'm a typical girl. I love watching the gymnastics in the summer games and figure skating in the winter venue.

The other night, Jim, Carter and I attended a dual meet between the Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point high schools. Some longtime friends of Jim's have a daughter who is doing exceptionally well this year so we thought it would be neat to see her perform and lend our support.

I've never been to a gymnastics meet -- in fact, my only point of reference is the Olympics -- so I was pretty excited. Carter wouldn't have minded staying home to play PS2, but I think he would have to admit he was a little impressed.

I think the reason I like watching gymnastics (and figure skating) is that I am in awe. I know there is no way in heck I could ever physically do anything close to what they do. I'm not a complete clutz, but it does take some effort for me to be coordinated (or at least look it). I admire these girls for what they could do -- their physical abilities and their resolve. If they fell off that beam, they got right back on it and kept going. There were no quitters.

It turned out to be a pretty close match with Point edging Rapids by 2.5 points. Katie, the girl we went to cheer on, finished 3rd in the overall. She obviously hoped to do a little better but she is going into the "playoffs" in the coming weeks with a positive attitude that she can perfect her mistakes and succeed.

I think that's another reason I both respect and envy athletes. They don't lose sight of their goals. When obstacles are thrown in their path, they find a way to get over, around or past them. We could learn a lot from that type of dedication. I'm looking forward to seeing more if it in China this summer.