parks and rec and vitamin d

today after a long time at work and driving all over the place maya and i went to get miles at potrero rec center. it was dusk when we got there, the indoor court full of big teenagers from the neighborhood playing basketball, nicely-dressed folks on the field bringing their dogs for their nightly outing. miles was not there, he was outside somewhere with the director, and under the flourescent lights some girls were drawing on easels and one boy played mancala with another staff member. the kids returned from outside, looking cold. they had been looking for the anaconda, a wierd little fiction the director had them fascinated with, and which i did not want to dispute. today miles said they found a can of blood, so there must really be an anaconda. but he also asked me "did mike just wink?", feeling a little confused. is there really an anaconda roaming potrero hill? like a ghost story from summer camp. not educational, not "enrichment", just a strange story to get the kids thinking and looking around the trees and bushes in the twilight.

miles and maya started whining about being hungry and the rec director went into the kitchen to get them a snack. he came out with one piece of homeade fried chicken and a piece of bread in a little plastic container, which he said his friend made for him. i didn't want to take his dinner but he insisted he didn't like fried chicken. miles and maya certainly do and gnawed on the bones in the dark car on the way home.

so things are working out in the after school department. odd, but good.

our lead blood test results for the kids came back fine, which is a relief, although i can no longer say it is the lead dust causing my dear daughter to be a frequent tyrant. we did find out they are both severely deficient in vitamin d, and need to take special supplements. vitamin d, it's not just for rickets anymore--deficiencies now linked to high blood pressure and cholesterol later in life. most people, not just kids should be supplementing vitamin d in their diet.

another wierd sign of the times--if we were outside all day like the animals we are, then the sun would keep us well in this department.

rambling as usual. take your vitamin d. thank your low paid goofy hat wearing chicken dinner donating parks and rec director who says your kid is "the best" and smile to yourself as you wearily drive home, the lights of downtown san francisco sparkling in the darkness below you.