Brief update: I proposed to my girlfriend and we got married in our backyard. We had a bicycle parade to the reception area with 40 of our family and friends. It was a great party with many performances and a 19 day honeymoon in New Zealand driving around both islands in a camper van on the other side of the road (from the US).
Fast forward - and it has been a fast journey looking back, it's 2018 and our marriage is a source of learning, challenge and appreciation. We have 2 amazing children and though sheer stubbornness, remembering to breathe and determination we've been raising them to understand and speak Tagalog. These days their language skills in English (which they speak most often) go beyond my Tagalog, but I continue to do what I can.
My 7 year old son helps me teach bicycle education and my 4 year old daughter helps me keep my improvisational skills alive as I personify her teddy bear "Cuddles" during our play time together.
After 2008 I created a bicycle education program that is a SF Bay Area wide bicycle education machine, helped build the San Francisco Safe Routes to School Program, launched and later led the largest single city "Bike to School Day" in the US and got fired from the successful program I helped to build. Leaving the work to others to continue I took my shattered identity home and realized that what I earned in my former position would mostly go to pay for our childcare needs and with our second child soon to arrive the role of Stay-At-Home Dad was a better option for everyone. My wife was and still is jealous about me being able to be home with the children.
With my newfound role and great support from my nearby Mother-In-Law who did childcare for us a couple times a week I was able to join Toastmasters and teach at a Coop Nursery School for both of our children.
I continue to teach bicycle education occasionally on the weekends and have just launched my first online "Teach your child to ride" a bike class for parents at www.mybikeskills.com.
More often I teach Vinyasa Flow yoga here in SF. Currently I teach 3 classes each week at Yogaflowsf.com. It fits in well with our family schedule and with Lola's (Grandma's) help I get to surf once a week. Here's a video of me surfing, the act of which contains some of the most satisfying experiences in my life. It combines challenge, learning, making decisions in the moment, exercise and develops my sense of humor.
Thus, I would like to welcome us both back to this blog. We'll see WHAT... unfolds from here.
In appreciation,Jason
