Béla had to make a playlist in his growth-mindset journal, but he of course already had a playlist.

I wasn’t at all surprised by the IDLES and Talking Heads songs, but KISS’ “Love Gun” and “Dear Officer Krupke” from West Side Story certainly were surprises.

He’s out now sugaring up and having a chess tournament with a friend. Loser buys lunch, apparently. Béla won.

He and Claudia also took quizzes on the first chapter of “Riddley Walker”, and we spent some time watching Music Reaction Videos — a genre I actually enjoy quite a bit — specifically of college-aged Korean people watching, for the first time, Lizzo (리조); which brought about much joy and empowerment; and then, watching Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”.

I don’t think my kids have ever seen other people reacting to their home with such absolute bafflement and terror. The young Korean adults kept murmuring, “This is America…” and I could see both of my kids thinking but I was out walking in it yesterday, by myself. 

The kids know that we live in a violent and hostile city, compared to most of the U.S. and they have made no secret of the fact that they want to get out of here as soon as possible. I think that it was very sobering, but also gave them hope that life could be different. I’m not at all regretful about their childhoods — I love that they have gone to local rec center camps and public pools, played in playgrounds from which they could see their own home until after dusk, walked to the grocery store with other children for the first time and photographed it for posterity, heard five languages in one street. But.

I am looking forward to a Friday night at home… and even though one of my favorite bands, that’d be on MY playlist, is here tonight. We could, but I doubt we will go. (I think we’ve seen them at least seven times.) Home is good tonight. Home and puppets.