Let There Be Light

After nearly 3 full days working on the installation of some new kitchen lights, I think I'm done. Ok, I say that like I did all the work when in reality it was Laura, my handy-dandy neighbor who took charge of the project. There were some glitches, yes... lots of them actually, but I learned a little bit in the process. The most important thing I learned is that I'm not doing this again and the next time I say, "I think I can do this" pertaining to something around the house, someone should just slap me. I should really just stick to taking pictures and digital photo enhancing and stuff that I'm reasonably good at.

We had to remove the old light box fixture, move the ceiling holes over a few inches so that we could install a metal plate to the beam, patch the ceiling, paint the ceiling and finally hang the new light fixtures. This involved at least 4 trips to Lowe's and lots of free labor from Laura. I have a new respect for people that do this type of work. They really make it look so easy. So, the kitchen looks better for it and let's hope there's been some value-added by going through this... I'm anxious to see if my family notices anything different when they come at Christmas.

1, 2, 3 ... 100... 200... 10 100... Infinity

Priya has recently been fascinated with numbers, particularly counting higher and higher. She knows that infinity is the highest number but doesn't really understand that, no matter how hard you try, you cannot physically count that high. On the ride home from the condo she was challenging herself to count and she proudly proclaimed that she had successfully counted to 215, then asked how high I could count. We talked about counting being a pattern, so once you know the pattern you can count forever or at least until you get tired of doing it. After thinking on this for a while, she says... “I probably can count to ten one hundred”. It made me chuckle to see her brain working like this... very logical considering she hasn't been taught the number one thousand yet.

The Secret Behind Character Costumes

So, I think Sanjay has figured it out. The chicken on the street corner holding a sign for “Free Wings – This Way” and the tiger on the sidelines of a football game... yeah, well they aren't for real. He knows now that there is one of us silly adults behind every good character costume. He told me so last night when he pointed out the tiger on TV. I asked him, “Was it a real tiger?”... and he looked at me like I should've known better and said, “No, it's a pretend tiger. There's a person inside.”

Before this, there were only hints of suspicion. Once when he was too young to have figured it out, he said about the chicken on the corner, “Mommy, that chicken has shoes.” Good observation little one, real chickens don't wear shoes. And, then during Book Fair at Priya's school back in October, he met Clifford, Curious George and Geronimo. The adults in the costumes were so patient with him as he asked for hug after hug after hug. We had to drop something off inside at the school office and the characters were finished their greeting duty so they came inside to strip down. Well, Clifford took his head off right there in the middle of the hallway and when Sanjay and I walked out of the office into this, he was visibly devastated. He couldn't take his eyes off this human-headed Clifford. He was confused, bewildered, shocked... and my heart went out to the little guy. The belief in these bigger-than-life characters would have gone on longer, I believe, if he hadn't seen this now. While walking out to the car he kept repeating... “Someone hurt Clifford” and it was on his mind for the rest of the day. With Halloween following quickly behind this incident, I think that sealed the deal. He is now convinced that these big, furry characters are really just us adults in costume. Sanjay, you seem to young to know this already... how can I help you hold on to the magic??

Age Stifles Creativity

Kids see things differently. They just do and I love it. I wish I could bring some of this free thinking back into my life sometimes. At lunch the other day, Sanjay is facing the bay window and looking outside while he eats his rice. The birds are flying from tree to tree and he says so seriously, "The birds are making a show for us". How interesting that he thinks they choreographed their moves and flight so that we, the humans, could be entertained. His statement reminded me of something someone told me in college of her childhood. She used to believe that the stars in the night sky were the air holes for us to breathe. The earth a glass jar and its inhabitants the captured fireflys of the giants. What if she's right??

You're So Glad of Me

Sanjay is getting the hang of it. He hasn't pooped in a diaper for 2 days. He's been using the potty and insisting on wearing "underwear pants". This morning after a successful splash-down of the brown stuff, he called me in to see what he'd done. He immediately declared, "Mommy, you're so glad of me" and gave me a big hug and kiss. All morning he's been without a diaper and as I'm writing this I just realized that I put him down for a nap in regular underwear. Oops. That was actually unintentional and I'm sure I'll be paying for it in about 1 ½ hours. It looks like at least in his waking hours, he can tell when he has to use the bathroom. Big strides for this little boy.

Priya's People

Priya's drawings these days have lots of expression and detail. She has a unique way of drawing people and I want to document it here so I can remember how they look. I love the bell-bottoms that her people are always wearing. They seem to have arms of rubber that bend gently at the elbow and hands with 3 fingers that are always waving. Most often they are leaning left at approximately the same angle and they generally have brown skin, matching the way she sees herself. Here are some examples to treasure:




These are quite an improvement over her first attempt at drawing a face, this one with the big ears, back in March 2004:

Back To School

Well, it's back to school after a week long vacation. It felt a little like the first day of school when I checked and double-checked everything... lunch packed?, daily folder empty?, water bottle filled up?, quiet-time blanket washed and in backpack?. Ok, so I forgot the quiet-time blanket, but 3 out of 4 isn't too bad.

She was feeling sad about heading back to school. All the kindergarten friends can't make up for the comfort of home. During the drive we talked about kids that go to school at home... she wanted to know how they figure out what to do on what day? How do they keep the same schedule as her kindergarten class? Then she asked me if she could be home-schooled. And, once we got into the parking lot at school she wanted parent-pickup today instead of a ride home on the bus because then "I can see you sooner". It broke my heart to leave her at school this morning... we'll miss each other, but I have to stay strong and help her through these transitions. I agreed to do parent-pickup today, but she'll ride the bus the rest of the week.

Her behavior today caused a flashback to a time when I was her age... I can remember vividly the first day of school (for at least the first couple of years of elementary school) begging my Mom to drive me to school instead of send me on the bus. Each year, she insisted that I be brave and ride instead. I don't know whether or not this made me a stronger person, but it seems like the right thing to do. Even if you wait until the next day, the first time you step on the bus it'll be your first day on the bus, so why not make it coincide with the other kids who are already on the bus waiting for you?