I Did It!
Growth...that's what I have been watching this week, both watching our big baby Jacinta turn into a real chatty "self sufficient" two-year old who is not yet two and Lecia and Ben's little baby Kai grow into a smiley little boy who can just about hold his head up. I am technically on vacation so there is nothing I really have to do outside of loving and caring for Jacinta and catching up with loved ones. Thus I have lots of time to observe Jacinta and Kai without trying to be productive. Though being on vacation for one month with no purpose would be too much for me so I have enjoyed cooking and helping my sister out. Outside of a few walks in the chilly spring air, a trip to the zoo, a trip to the new Milwaukee market and running errands we have been homebodies.
Given so much time to contemplate, of course I began comparing suburban life to country life. Without going into too much gory detail, I've come to the conclusion that no matter where you are, if you are able to "create," one can find happiness. Many people nowadays work in jobs that demand no positive creativity, return home to watch other people be creative on television, and warm up dinners created by other people and/or their machines. People in the city, the suburbs and in rural areas do this. I think this is where the general societal malaise comes from, lack of creative energy. This is no news to anyone, but what is new to me is that I now live in a place where there is nothing but positive creative energy surrounding me just in the land and its bounty. Naively, I couldn't imagine this type of media-dependence or junk food dependence being present in such a productive land but I've found that it is present anywhere creativity has been lost. In speaking to a woman at playgroup in Macksville, I asked her 4 year-old daughter how her summer was and her mum answered for her, "Terrible! It was just so hot we had to stay inside in the air-conditioning and the kids watched television constantly...it was just awful" This was a choice.
Other than being just downright judgemental and arrogant to think that if only I ran the world we could all be happy, well...I had quite a nice week. I'm getting to know my sister as a mom and an auntie, and Ben as a daddy and an energetic uncle. What a change to take our kids to the zoo together thinking back to fighting about which animal to visit next when our parents took us to the zoo as kids. Jess is playing the big girl role "helping" baby Kai in every way possible. She is not jeolous but certainly needs to get in on all of the action with the baby. If she catches me holding on to Kai for too long, she demands, "two babies!" This means that I need to either pick her up with my empty arm or sit down and hold both of them on the rocking chair. If we all cuddle in the rocking chair, she spends the whole time trying to cover us all up with one small baby blanket, fluffing and spreading out the blanket to make it just right. Tonight I solved the "two babies!" question by holding Kai with one arm and holding Jess' hand swinging around dancing with my other hand.
Jacinta is speaking in short sentences now, and I am shocked daily at what she has picked up. I was a French teacher who tried to teach as if my students were babies learning a mother tongue, total immersion. Now for the first time watching a child learn to speak, I approve more and more of that style of teaching language. After so much absorption, the words are just spilling out of her mouth. She's got the possessive "s" down, "baby Kai's house, "Jess's chair" "daddy's coffee," and is starting to say "I" instead of "you," when speaking in first person. She can now listen to stories without pictures about daily life and take part in reliving the story. Today we went to a park on Lake Michigan with a great little jungle gym. Grandma and Dja Dja were with us and we were all sitting and watching Jacinta discover how much she could do without our help. She came to one ladder and asked for help. After one time with assistance Jess attempted to climb that same ladder alone, arrived at the top and yelled, "I did it!" Every time she did it, she yelled that proud phrase out again, "I did it!"
This has been a time to treasure. I've been with my family for two weeks now, and I still have two more weeks to see the rest of my family and friends here in the US. I miss Matt, Keith and Mary, my friends and my garden. I relent that I'm missing out on the lettuce I planted, hoping that my peas aren't getting too out of control, but know that Matt is watering so there's no worry. I wonder what autumn is like in Australia as this is my first one, but know that missing out on a bit of it is definitely worth it. Jess and I spend time out in the yard here picking up sticks, lying down looking up at the opening buds on the trees, making "soup," "mint tea, and "Daddy's coffee" out of grass, flowers and bark. Soccer moms in SUVs drive by and get a kick out of our unhurried presence in the grass. Jess still asks to see Rory and consoles herself that she'll see him "soon," but also talks about seeing Iris and Otto here in the US, "soon!" Today while rocking warm and cuddly Kai in his cozy room, listening to "You are My Sunshine," with Jess spinning around me, Lecia cleaning up Kai's changing table and my mom nearby I silently shed a few tears knowing what a beautiful time this was and how I'd probably re-create it a million times later on in life and cry at how seldom it happened. The wonderful thing is that it did happen.
Once again, I'll close with a story about our sweet little Jacinta. It was breakfast and she was sitting on the counter helping me prepare the oatmeal as she always does. We had already put the pot on the stove and I came back to mash the banana in our bowls. Jess threw her arms around me and said "I love you," and I melted. I replied, "I love you too Jacinta." She hugged me a little longer and then I asked her, "Do you know who else loves you?" "Daddy," she said...."Daddy loves you." "Yes," I said, chuckling at her misuse of the first person,"Daddy loves you."
Good night everybody.
Given so much time to contemplate, of course I began comparing suburban life to country life. Without going into too much gory detail, I've come to the conclusion that no matter where you are, if you are able to "create," one can find happiness. Many people nowadays work in jobs that demand no positive creativity, return home to watch other people be creative on television, and warm up dinners created by other people and/or their machines. People in the city, the suburbs and in rural areas do this. I think this is where the general societal malaise comes from, lack of creative energy. This is no news to anyone, but what is new to me is that I now live in a place where there is nothing but positive creative energy surrounding me just in the land and its bounty. Naively, I couldn't imagine this type of media-dependence or junk food dependence being present in such a productive land but I've found that it is present anywhere creativity has been lost. In speaking to a woman at playgroup in Macksville, I asked her 4 year-old daughter how her summer was and her mum answered for her, "Terrible! It was just so hot we had to stay inside in the air-conditioning and the kids watched television constantly...it was just awful" This was a choice.
Other than being just downright judgemental and arrogant to think that if only I ran the world we could all be happy, well...I had quite a nice week. I'm getting to know my sister as a mom and an auntie, and Ben as a daddy and an energetic uncle. What a change to take our kids to the zoo together thinking back to fighting about which animal to visit next when our parents took us to the zoo as kids. Jess is playing the big girl role "helping" baby Kai in every way possible. She is not jeolous but certainly needs to get in on all of the action with the baby. If she catches me holding on to Kai for too long, she demands, "two babies!" This means that I need to either pick her up with my empty arm or sit down and hold both of them on the rocking chair. If we all cuddle in the rocking chair, she spends the whole time trying to cover us all up with one small baby blanket, fluffing and spreading out the blanket to make it just right. Tonight I solved the "two babies!" question by holding Kai with one arm and holding Jess' hand swinging around dancing with my other hand.
Jacinta is speaking in short sentences now, and I am shocked daily at what she has picked up. I was a French teacher who tried to teach as if my students were babies learning a mother tongue, total immersion. Now for the first time watching a child learn to speak, I approve more and more of that style of teaching language. After so much absorption, the words are just spilling out of her mouth. She's got the possessive "s" down, "baby Kai's house, "Jess's chair" "daddy's coffee," and is starting to say "I" instead of "you," when speaking in first person. She can now listen to stories without pictures about daily life and take part in reliving the story. Today we went to a park on Lake Michigan with a great little jungle gym. Grandma and Dja Dja were with us and we were all sitting and watching Jacinta discover how much she could do without our help. She came to one ladder and asked for help. After one time with assistance Jess attempted to climb that same ladder alone, arrived at the top and yelled, "I did it!" Every time she did it, she yelled that proud phrase out again, "I did it!"
This has been a time to treasure. I've been with my family for two weeks now, and I still have two more weeks to see the rest of my family and friends here in the US. I miss Matt, Keith and Mary, my friends and my garden. I relent that I'm missing out on the lettuce I planted, hoping that my peas aren't getting too out of control, but know that Matt is watering so there's no worry. I wonder what autumn is like in Australia as this is my first one, but know that missing out on a bit of it is definitely worth it. Jess and I spend time out in the yard here picking up sticks, lying down looking up at the opening buds on the trees, making "soup," "mint tea, and "Daddy's coffee" out of grass, flowers and bark. Soccer moms in SUVs drive by and get a kick out of our unhurried presence in the grass. Jess still asks to see Rory and consoles herself that she'll see him "soon," but also talks about seeing Iris and Otto here in the US, "soon!" Today while rocking warm and cuddly Kai in his cozy room, listening to "You are My Sunshine," with Jess spinning around me, Lecia cleaning up Kai's changing table and my mom nearby I silently shed a few tears knowing what a beautiful time this was and how I'd probably re-create it a million times later on in life and cry at how seldom it happened. The wonderful thing is that it did happen.
Once again, I'll close with a story about our sweet little Jacinta. It was breakfast and she was sitting on the counter helping me prepare the oatmeal as she always does. We had already put the pot on the stove and I came back to mash the banana in our bowls. Jess threw her arms around me and said "I love you," and I melted. I replied, "I love you too Jacinta." She hugged me a little longer and then I asked her, "Do you know who else loves you?" "Daddy," she said...."Daddy loves you." "Yes," I said, chuckling at her misuse of the first person,"Daddy loves you."
Good night everybody.
posted by Matt & Shana & Jacinta & Genevieve Henry at
5:00 PM
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