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There were some scheduling clashes today, but we worked around them to get all the necessary things done. There were really only two things on the list - Smallsteps' piano recital, and [Virvonta,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virvonta) a celebration based in pagan tradition, that has been stolen by Christianity and now is celebrated (for children) on the Sunday before Easter. It involves cutting and decorating young pussy willow branches, dressing up like witches (which is now dress up as anything), and then door knocking - swapping a decorated twig for a treat. 

>So it was off to the recital first.

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> Which was interesting.

Because before the concert, Smallsteps met a boy of her age who has been playing since he was five, so a couple years more than her she has been playing for just over a year. He is really good and it is pretty obvious that he takes playing the piano seriously, yet I get the impression that he is kind of forced into it by his parents a bit, by the couple times I have seen him play. However, that is just a guess - he might really love it. However, even at his young age, he seems more drilled than creative - technically good, but artistically lacking. I hope that is not the case and when he is home, he freestyles and experiments.

It is a fine line for a parent I think when it comes to hobbies, and many parents fail at it. Often, they want their kids to be good, so they push them to practice and practice until they hate it. Or, they go the other way and don't push enough, rather letting their kids just do what they please and quit whenever it gets too hard, or boring. Both ways set up for failure. 

Instead, it is more about helping the child find flow value from the hobby that they enjoy, where they are encouraged to push themselves to increase the difficulty, but not too far that they don't get enough progress wins along the way. They need pats on the back, and they need a framework to rely upon. 

> It is easy to misalign. *Especially if comparing to other kids.*

It is hard not to, so we try to be aware and conscious of it. Yet, it is also good for children to see and play against some other children who are better than them. If it takes away their motivation to continue, they probably wouldn't have made it very far anyway. But if it inspires them to improve by upping the difficulty, and the framework ensures they don't up it too far they don't get any wins, and they can get a lot of value and importantly, enjoyment out of it. 

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> Smallsteps seems to find flow when she plays piano by herself.

But she seems to enjoy a healthy range of activities too, which is why we also put in a little effort to get her ready to door-knock (family doors only) as soon as the concert was over. We were prepared, with her mouse costume (which she says will be the last year for it - though she still considers herself a mouse) and some water paints to put on a pink nose and whiskers. 

> In four minutes, she was mouse'd up and ready to knock.

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And after the first two doors, with the second being her grandparents - it was time for a pitstop for some coffee, cake and a little present from them for the concert (they attended) and the day (as well as a quick microwave fix), before moving on to visit the older cousins. 

> But in between - I voted.

As a permanent resident I can vote in the local elections, but not in the national elections. While not all the votes have been counted yet, the results are not surprising, with a massive swing to the Social Democrat Party, and away from the current government. This is because there has been *plenty* of cost-cutting going on, unemployment is over 9% and many are struggling. The "Finns Party" (anti-immigration) that did well last time and is in the coalition government now, has lost *almost half* of its support from the last election. 

> None of the parties have the answers though.

Trying to fix what is broken is a losing game, especially since what they are trying to fix wasn't created for the reality we have right now in the world. The economics they use was made for a different era, and the tax systems are oppressive, without returning value to the taxpayers, because of the global conglomerates and all the concessions they use to not pay tax in the country of revenue.

> None of them have the balls to even try to change the system though.

So, here we all are, at the mercy of idiots who think that the status quo framework is the best there is. That party systems are a good way to vote. And that the right government will make everything better. 

The wrong framework in action.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]


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