Thinking Allowed: In with the '20s!

Hoi An was probably a big fiesta tonight, with fireworks and DJs and boozy partygoers. We wouldn’t know, cause we were gettin it down Teitelbaum style just the six of us.

First we had Vietnamese icy treats and played an intense yet silly game called “Outrage!” We have the travel edition, which is 1:6 normal size and none of the pieces fit on the squares. You have to steal the Crown Jewels. Sophia cried when she had to surrender her brace of pistols to the yeoman. Tova and Zadie ate about a kilogram of rambutan.

Then we stopped to have dessert. Toblerone had electric effect on the girls, who all got very hyper at the same time. I suggested an introspective session of resolution-setting to inspire us for the new year. Everyone could choose between 0 and 4 commitments to make and live by. We had a...solemn time. Unfortunately I didn’t write these down in chronological order but you can probably piece it together. I wrote them down verbatim.

Sophia

- Try to never fight with Tova

- Exercise with Mama three times per week

- Be nice to everyone

- Try not to get any minus points on our whole trip

- Manage all the 2 letter words on Wordwalls without one mistake. And try to manage the 3s

- Be happy every second of my birthday

- I want to write a story

- Go to a trampoline place to learn how to do a front flip. And learn to do a front hand spring

Tova

- Not fight with Sophia

- Every single day while we’re at home not doing anything I’m just going to be staying in my splits for the whole time; I’m starting that tomorrow! Actually today! Right now!

- Have the next New Year’s Eve in Hawaii

- After 3 weeks if I can’t do splits all the way down yet then I have to do splits the whole day

- on the next New Year’s Eve try meat

- learn how to do a flip

Aurora

- Actually try to do the trip budget

- Read more and get better at word searches so I can beat mama

- Be able to do the splits and the nosey touchey backey thing where you go rolley over

- I want to practice word searches even harder so I can beat mama

- learn all the 3 letter words

- have a better memory

- I want to write a very interesting short story, children’s book or chapter book

- I want to go climbing in 8 different countries

Tamar

- Exercise without children (except maybe with Sophia) three times per week

- <deleted - vetoed by Zadie>

- Manage to go rock climbing in at least 6 countries

- Practice word searches so Aurora can’t beat me

- help aurora not be so competitive

- memorise all the 26 letter words

Jakob

- Stretch for 10 mins at wakeup and bedtime every day for the next 366 days

- Try to average 10km day of walking

- Speak conversational Italian by the time we reach Italy

- Write a children’s story that is at least 10 pages long

Zadie

- Tomorrow it’s Sophia and Aurora’s birthday

- Eat a lolly. I like eating lollies

- Get a candy

- Eat pasta

- Eat nothing

- I like to eat with a straw <kissy face>

- I’m going for a hike! I’m going for a hike! I’m going for a hike! I’m going for a hike!

- I’m going back home! I’m going back home! I’m going back home!

Tova did the splits for most of the session, and indeed for the rest of the evening. When it was finally bedtime she lurched upstairs clutching her groin ligaments. Aurora and Sophia stayed up til midnight with me, playing a variety of games such as two-player Werewolf, a new game invented by Aurora in real-time involving 6 Es, 6 As, two blanks and a Z; and an epic game of Yahtzee which Sophia won narrowly at 12:04. I just sent them to bed wired, and I am so pooped.

The past decade has been huge - having the girls, living in a bunch of countries, getting into new pursuits and old like gymnastics, Scrabble, rock climbing. Hope the next one is even more unforgettable!