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Weird.  My daughter is an American.

Not bad weird.  I love a lot of Americans and I have a deep appreciation for this land of possibilities.  I used to commit a lot of energy toward everything that’s wrong with America.  A lot of that is still here.  But so am I, and I’m doing alright for myself.  So while there may be a lot that’s broken (hello, health system) and a lot that is painfully out of balance (hello, financial system) but it would be hypocritical to claim it’s all gone to hell.  Any American who says it has hasn’t spent much time in a third world county.

But yes, given who I am and where I’ve come from, philosophically speaking, it’s weird to see her name on a New York birth certificate and attached to a social security number.  Of course, it’s totally awesome that it says “Official Business” right above where it says “Peppermint”.  I bet, if there are any real people still working in Social Security Administration, that will bring them a smile.  Nice.

I think she will have the best of both worlds.  A wealth of opportunity and choice.  I’m really excited for her.  I think, as her parents, we carry a big responsibility in making sure she experiences some of that choice.  Advantage tempered with perspective.  Her mom and I have both traveled, both studied some culture.  We have some sense of global community.  It’s going to be important to share that with her.  When you’re not only in the States, but in New York City, it’s easy to feel the world revolving around you at the epicenter.  That said, New Yorkers have a reputation for being more liberal, more globally aware, than much of the rest of the country.

Did you catch the 2nd Presidential Debate this evening?  President Obama showed up for this one.  Guns blazing.  If the event had gone on much longer they may have come to blows.  Awesome.  For me, it’s about time the Democrats started swinging back.  I just wish it didn’t have to be a dirty fight.  Still, if you keep showing up to a gun fight with a sternly worded letter… I digress.

Let’s just leave it at how very lucky Avery Peppermint is, and how it weighs on me to help her have some sense of that.  Not tomorrow, mind you.  Girl’s just figuring out how to smile.  One step at a time.  Such as her first step.

Meanwhile, the Taverners senior joined the New York Taverners (that always includes Marjorie, for anyone keeping track) for a long walk up 5th and into Central Park.  We explored around Rock Center and cursed the scaffolding obscuring St Patrick’s, and we appreciated how so many premier brands have to have a flagship store on 5th or they’re just not premier.  Like H&M.  Apparently.  Yep.  And how Swatch is right across the street from Rolex.  And then Mother/Gramma needed to go inside the Tiffany store, naturally.  I visited the Frank Gehry ring I’ll never buy.  Dad/Grampa and I paused to admire the improved Apple cube.  We were denied permission to enter by the ladies.  Boo.

Central Park is huge (though technically not as huge as Stanley Park).  We’ve been in there a dozen times and still haven’t seen more than half of it.  And we’ve tried.  Keep getting lost.  So we aimed to just give my folks a sense of it.  The “Central Parkescence”.  We saw some horses, and the wet pavement that will soon be an ice rink.  The lack of ice demanded a response, so we had ice cream from a vendor.  We passed the Sheep Meadow, and eventually made it to the Bethesda Fountain.  We were all about done with walking by then, and that’s only a quarter of the way up the length of the park.  And we only saw a bit of that quarter.  Call it a micro-metaphor for my parents’ first visit to New York.  There’s just so damn much of it.  Avery saw none of it, zonked out as she was in the Baby Bjorn.  Just awesome, that thing is.  We took some pictures as we went, but y’all are going to have to wait til tomorrow.  This daddy is due for bed.  Should get a good 15 minute nap in before Avery wakes up for her first meal of the day.

It was a gorgeous day!  I kinda paid for it this evening – working for the last six hours on graphics for CB’s new site.  But the day was great.  My family is great.  Life is great.  After you read this, say within the hour, tell somebody you appreciate them.  Pass it on.

No words.  Just awesome.  Four weeks old and counting.