Dear Kid,

The sound of a woodpecker hard at work is (imo) a delightful sound, confirming that little bugs are becoming lunch for a hungry bird. (Unless, the birds are pounding into the house siding rather than a tree in which case it’s a terrifying sound, right up there with the sound of dollars running out of my bank account.) Either way, it’s a lot of woodpecker headbanging.

Have you ever thought about why they don’t get headaches?

Seriously, you’d think there would be tiny little avian pharmacies all over with the amount they bang their heads. Up to 20 times per second to be precise.

And while they don’t have big brains (the term “bird brain” comes to mind), there are very few documented cases of woodpecker concussions.

It was that thinking that led to the creation of the Q collar, the concussion prevention collar that is being tested, vetted, and otherwise used to try to reduce concussions during sporting events.

The idea is not to reduce the size of the players’ brains, but rather to help secure the athletes’ brains in place. It turns out that woodpeckers’ brains are held in place with muscles and bones (and an extra eyelid). Basically a bird brain seat belt/helmet.

A couple of high schools in the Cincinnati area have been testing the Q collar. Researchers are specifically focusing on football and girls’ soccer (not that we know anyone who got a concussion while playing either of those). The collar somehow increases the amount of blood around the brain to help hold those brain cells in place. The researchers are seeing fantastic results which is wonderful news.

The moral of the story is seat belts are important in the car and inside your head.

One other important fact: a woodpecker will only make straight strikes to a tree. No side-to-side movements helps prevent head trauma.

The next step for the researchers (obviously) is to figure out how to get athletes to always get hit straight on.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

What is with the drivers in Pennsylvania?

On the drive east (clear weather), there were parts of the highway where the speed limit was 55 mph (I was driving 54.8 mph exactly) and cars were zooming past us so fast they were a mere blur. And we’re not talking about an occasional vehicle. Pretty much everyone on the road was doing a Speed Racer impersonation.

When did they put an autobahn in the middle of Pennsylvania?

I kept checking the road signs and the speedometer because I was convinced I had to have misread something. I hadn’t.

On the way back home (foggy and rainy) in that same stretch of Pennsylvania, cars were flying by (hard deck at about 2 feet above the road surface).

To the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Officers: While I was driving below the speed limit (because I would never drive even a skootch over the legal limit), I know a few spots where you can make your monthly speeding ticket quota in an afternoon.

In all fairness, I’m not saying that the speeds of various vehicles was anything like consistent in other areas. But that particular stretch just seemed to be a real airport.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Rise and shine!

It’s Friday and the morning is here. It’s time for coffee, breakfast, a ray or two of sunshine (woo hoo for the sunshine!).

Fridays are time to focus on finishing up with week on an up-note. For finding a surge of productivity.

Fridays are for putting the week in perspective and taking a deep breath. For breathing into the weekend and starting the new week refreshed and ready for whatever lies ahead.

Fridays are for friends, and family, and fun. For feasting and playing and resting and relaxing.

So let’s plunge into today headfirst. Grab the opportunity and the possibilities!

And the best thing about this Friday?

I get to see my kids!

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

There was a recent cartoon (one of the most reliable sources of news these days) that said “My Values = Good; Your Values = Stupid”.

It made me smile, not because it was particularly funny but because it was pretty much spot on for the times.

It seems it is becoming harder and harder to have reasonable, adult conversations about difficult or unfamiliar topics.

“I don’t have to share your beliefs to learn more and appreciate your point of view” has been replaced with “stupid.” “I don’t know enough yet to make an informed decision” has been replaced with “you are morally reprehensible”. And “Facts? I spit upon your facts!” now correlates to gunshots.

I can’t begin to tell you how troubled I am by all this. I don’t know how we move away from screaming and begin talking. I don’t know how we move away from rhetoric and begin listening, really listening, to each other. I’m not smart enough to even pretend to have the answer. However, I do know that when reasonable adults hold open, reasonable conversations full of honestly trying to understand and appreciate each other, good things happen.

Here’s to a day of listening.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

It’s January. You probably knew that. You probably also know that January is named after Janus, the Roman god with two heads (one looking forward and one looking back). But I’m betting there is a lot you don’t know about the first month of the year.

Like it wasn’t always the first month. If you go back far enough in history, it wasn’t a month at all since months hadn’t been invented. (Fast forward a little, please.) Then January became the 11^th month which confused everyone in Times Square.

The Anglo-Saxons called January “Wulfmonath” because hungry wolves came scavenging during the winter. Anyone who has ever fed a teenager will understand this perfectly.

Speaking of food, January is National Soup Month, National Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, and National Baking Month. In other words, it’s COLD!

According to My Friend the Internet, more couples separate or get divorced in January than in any other month. This makes no sense, because it’s COLD and snuggling is warm.

There are two zodiac signs in January, Capricorn and Aquarius. This is important to know if you want to check your horoscope. The birthstone for January is garnet. I don’t know why, but it’s a pretty stone, so why not. January’s flower is carnation (meh) which is also the state flower of Ohio.  Tulips are better but none of the months have claimed tulips, which is their mistake.

This year, there are two full moons in January. The first was the Full Wolf Moon (which you saw on January 1^st if you were paying attention). The second will be the Full Old Moon (also a Blue Moon) which will rise on January 31^st (whether or not you are paying attention). Both of them are supermoons which means they are gorgeous and worth sticking your nose out into the cold to see.

Happy January!

Enjoy the rest of the month, kiddo.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

I learned (sort of) how to play Mah Jong (Mandarin for Jewish women chatting and playing with tiles). Turns out Mah Jong has nothing to do with the solitaire matching game one finds on computers and everything to do with complicated rules.

I did not master the hands. (Apparently, you’re not supposed to say things like “Oooh, I really like the dragons!”)

I did figure out the names of the tiles. None are named George.

My lesson did not include scoring (although I was told that people generally play for money).

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

As you may know, yesterday was Football Day.

And (despite my feelings on the matter), New England barely managed not to lose to Jacksonville. (I’ll pause for a moment while you relive the disappointment.)

I am generally amazed by the amount of research the commentators due for each game. I know they have people feeding them information, but they really do a great job of knowing the facts and figures and history and whatnot.

So you’d think they’d learn to pronounce the team name correctly, wouldn’t you?

Not this time.

When you were a wee thing, you used to say “jag-wire”. It was cute. We corrected you, but it was cute. When you’re in single digits, you can get away with stuff like that.

When you’re on national television, not so much.

They used Jag-wire so often and so confidently, they made me begin to doubt myself.

I looked it up.

Mom: 1; commentators: 0.

The word is pronounced jag-wahr. Unless you’re promoting the car with a British accent in which case you say Jag-yoo-are. But not jag-wire. Not now, not ever.

Unless you’re 5 years old.

Love, Mom