My little friend, W, has a preoccupation with words, letters and sounds. He is a shy and intent little four year old who really finds it a fun time to sit down with markers in hand and practice his letters. I could read a library full of books to this boy and he wouldn't move unless he got hungry, and no, not even for bathroom duties. He often looks at me and says, 'Why do they call it....'. And what follows are things like: pen, or cake, or monkey or fat or happy and on and on and on. Usually the word in question will be the actually thing he is seeing, feeling, touching or tasting. When he looks up at me with those innocent and admiring blue eyes its hard to admit that, to be honest, you're not sure. Usually I reply with, Somebody a long long time ago made it up and now we use it all the time'. Which is pretty much accurate, right?
The fact is, language is such a massive force in our world, it affects(controls?) pretty much every aspect of our modern lives. In all the languages in all the world, it's said that the English language is the most difficult to master. I've read that the English language possibly has upwards of 3 quarters of a million words including nouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions slang, and words that have become obsolete. Our language is derived from German, Dutch, French and Latin languages, and in all accounts, a very universal and culturally influenced language.
We have words to describe the things we see, and how it affects our senses;sun: bright, hot yellow, intense. We have words to describe our emotions and how we feel; happy, sad, angry, silly, anxious, curious, jealous. We have words that explain objects around us and even words to describe how those same objects look, feel, sound, and taste. When little W asks his questions I encourage his curiosity and try to increase his vocabulary daily, in hopes that he can master this language more accurately than most of us, and feel confident in his ability to convey his thoughts and feelings and understand they are relevant. Because when I dive into this ever growing sea of words and try to choose my own, I seem to drown amongst them instead of grabbing them and using them to get back to shore.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Bless the Little Children
A child's innocence about the world around them and how life works is absolutely astounding. It makes me laugh, cry, shake my head and wonder about the glory of childhood, how weightless it all feels, how the world can only be as you perceive it and no other way. What is more astounding is their perfect honesty in how they think and feel. Emotions become so complicated and life experiences begin to take their hold on us; honesty is almost a lost art. Honesty in not only about how we feel but in how we convey those feelings for better or for worse.
One day I was helping my little friend W with his bathroom duties when he was just 3 year old. At this point, little W was not a lover of the toilet and just getting him to sit on it was half the battle. To entertain him and keep him occupied while he fulfilled his dreaded doo-doo duties, I started playing an opposites game, to introduce him to the concept and gauge his understanding. I would say, 'up' and it was his job to tell me the opposite was 'down'. After one or two of these, I said, 'boy' and we proceeded into a conversation about the fact girl is the opposite of boy, and man is the opposite of woman. He was a boy, but would grow up to be a man like daddy. He said, 'No I won't I want to be a woman like mommy'. When I asked him why he would rather be a girl he looked up at me with his wide and innocent blue eyes and said, 'Because I think I would be cuter as a girl'.
My little Miss E is a very curious little creature about the nature of life. At the ripe old age of 6, she is constantly bombarding me with questions about how babies get into mummies bellies, how they get out, how many babies can a mummy have? (Me:As many as they want, E:a hundred?) After one of these conversations, E told me she wanted to have 20 babies. Later the same day, Miss E was oh so very distraught over the saliva of her friend N soaking into her sweater. So distraught, even, she had pulled her arm inside her sweater and held the offending sleeve, disgustedly, in front of her and as far away from her body as she could possibly get it. I told her if she wanted to have 20 babies she had better get used to a little bit of germs. When she asked why, I told her because they were going to drool on her all the time, she was going to have to clean poopy diapers and they might pee on her (especially if they were boys) and the odd time they might throw up on her. Her eyes widened, she wrinkled her perfect little nose in disgust, and said as she walked away, loose sleeve dangling, 'I'm not having any babies anymore'.
When the Natural Disaster was only 4 (he's now 7), and it was only our second week together as a team, the charming young fella excused himself to the bathroom while we were having lunch. I had been forewarned by his parents that he sometimes takes a while to complete his task, as he strips completely naked (socks even!) and 'reads' to pass the time. I gave N some leeway and alone time, and allowed his absence to continue most of the way through lunch. After Baby S was fed and the other children were mostly finished, I went to the bathroom and knocked at the door, inquiring about his progress. I heard, 'Ummm... I am not done yet'. I told him he had 5 more minutes to finish up, and went back to the table. After 5 minutes, I knocked on the door again. This time, the answer was not immediate, and I told him to open the door please. When he opens the door, an overwhelming minty scent slaps me in the face mercilessly, stinging my eyes as it passes by. I peered around his skinny shirtless body, and saw a tube of toothpaste on the floor, contents oozing, a wad of toilet paper stuck to the toilet seat. Why was it stuck to the toilet you ask? Because he had squeezed almost the whole tube out onto the toilet and spread it around the seat as if he were painting a masterpiece. When I looked at him and asked him why he did it, 'He said, I thought I could clean it off and you wouldn't know'.
I love my little friends, every single one of them, and watching them grow and having a hands on part in guiding these important days in their lives is probably the best gift I could have ever been given. I think children, if we value them in the right way, help us to keep perspective on life and what is truly important. I cherish this time I have with them and hope that in the end I have helped them grow and learn as much as they have helped me.
One day I was helping my little friend W with his bathroom duties when he was just 3 year old. At this point, little W was not a lover of the toilet and just getting him to sit on it was half the battle. To entertain him and keep him occupied while he fulfilled his dreaded doo-doo duties, I started playing an opposites game, to introduce him to the concept and gauge his understanding. I would say, 'up' and it was his job to tell me the opposite was 'down'. After one or two of these, I said, 'boy' and we proceeded into a conversation about the fact girl is the opposite of boy, and man is the opposite of woman. He was a boy, but would grow up to be a man like daddy. He said, 'No I won't I want to be a woman like mommy'. When I asked him why he would rather be a girl he looked up at me with his wide and innocent blue eyes and said, 'Because I think I would be cuter as a girl'.
My little Miss E is a very curious little creature about the nature of life. At the ripe old age of 6, she is constantly bombarding me with questions about how babies get into mummies bellies, how they get out, how many babies can a mummy have? (Me:As many as they want, E:a hundred?) After one of these conversations, E told me she wanted to have 20 babies. Later the same day, Miss E was oh so very distraught over the saliva of her friend N soaking into her sweater. So distraught, even, she had pulled her arm inside her sweater and held the offending sleeve, disgustedly, in front of her and as far away from her body as she could possibly get it. I told her if she wanted to have 20 babies she had better get used to a little bit of germs. When she asked why, I told her because they were going to drool on her all the time, she was going to have to clean poopy diapers and they might pee on her (especially if they were boys) and the odd time they might throw up on her. Her eyes widened, she wrinkled her perfect little nose in disgust, and said as she walked away, loose sleeve dangling, 'I'm not having any babies anymore'.
When the Natural Disaster was only 4 (he's now 7), and it was only our second week together as a team, the charming young fella excused himself to the bathroom while we were having lunch. I had been forewarned by his parents that he sometimes takes a while to complete his task, as he strips completely naked (socks even!) and 'reads' to pass the time. I gave N some leeway and alone time, and allowed his absence to continue most of the way through lunch. After Baby S was fed and the other children were mostly finished, I went to the bathroom and knocked at the door, inquiring about his progress. I heard, 'Ummm... I am not done yet'. I told him he had 5 more minutes to finish up, and went back to the table. After 5 minutes, I knocked on the door again. This time, the answer was not immediate, and I told him to open the door please. When he opens the door, an overwhelming minty scent slaps me in the face mercilessly, stinging my eyes as it passes by. I peered around his skinny shirtless body, and saw a tube of toothpaste on the floor, contents oozing, a wad of toilet paper stuck to the toilet seat. Why was it stuck to the toilet you ask? Because he had squeezed almost the whole tube out onto the toilet and spread it around the seat as if he were painting a masterpiece. When I looked at him and asked him why he did it, 'He said, I thought I could clean it off and you wouldn't know'.
I love my little friends, every single one of them, and watching them grow and having a hands on part in guiding these important days in their lives is probably the best gift I could have ever been given. I think children, if we value them in the right way, help us to keep perspective on life and what is truly important. I cherish this time I have with them and hope that in the end I have helped them grow and learn as much as they have helped me.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Ahhh, the old Horrorscope
SAGITTARIUS - The Promiscuous One: Spontaneous. High appeal. Rare to find. Great when found. Loves being in long relationships. So much love to give. A loner most of the time. Loses patience easily and will not take crap. If in a bad mood stay FAR away. Gets offended easily and remembers the offense forever. Loves deeply but at times will not show it as it feels it is a sign of weakness. Has many fears but will not show it. VERY private person. Defends loved ones with all their abilities. Can be childish often. Not one to mess with. Very pretty. Very romantic. Nice to everyone they meet. Their Love is one of a kind. Silly, fun and sweet. Have own unique appeal. Most caring person you will ever meet! Amazing in bed..!!! Not the kind of person you want to mess with- you might end up crying.
So this is an overview of my personality based on my horoscope. Sent to me courtesy A, via one rare forward from my good old friend. This horoscope made me laugh, because coincidence or not, it touched on things in my personality that I can certainly relate to. Even seemingly slanderous phrases like, 'The Promiscuous One' which lo and behold, happens to be the catch phrase summarizing my astrological personality! Only because according to my own personal standards, I have to date, slept with more people than I would have liked to in my lifetime, although compared with a lot people, my number is very very small! And I certainly know the number will never get smaller, only a certain future of growing larger if I don't find the one who can, and will want to satisfy my voracious hunger for love!
I am a loner, and probably because of previously mentioned qualities such as: loses patience easily, not taking crap, holding grudges, acting childish, and as was repeated at least 3 times, I am not one to be messed with, I might make you cry! The one particular aspect of this horoscope I found most insightful was the 'Loves deeply but at times will not show it as it feels it is a sign of weakness' part. Loving people comes scarily easy to me, but letting these loved ones see it will be a constant struggle on my behalf. It is a part of me that I wish I could understand, because love was always given so freely to me but I am unable to be as open with my own often unexpected and intense love.
So according to my 'horrorscope', I am a somewhat emotionally crippled, volatile sex addict who really does have a tender side buried deep down somewhere beneath her tough archer exterior. Or we could go with a more positive spin on things, and submit for approval the final interpretation of my astrological casting mold:
'The one who wants to love as deeply as she wants to be loved. The one who will give herself to the people who deserve it; those who can not only tolerate her private universe but will try to understand it and offer her new ways of thinking, feeling, and communicating in order to escape it.
So this is an overview of my personality based on my horoscope. Sent to me courtesy A, via one rare forward from my good old friend. This horoscope made me laugh, because coincidence or not, it touched on things in my personality that I can certainly relate to. Even seemingly slanderous phrases like, 'The Promiscuous One' which lo and behold, happens to be the catch phrase summarizing my astrological personality! Only because according to my own personal standards, I have to date, slept with more people than I would have liked to in my lifetime, although compared with a lot people, my number is very very small! And I certainly know the number will never get smaller, only a certain future of growing larger if I don't find the one who can, and will want to satisfy my voracious hunger for love!
I am a loner, and probably because of previously mentioned qualities such as: loses patience easily, not taking crap, holding grudges, acting childish, and as was repeated at least 3 times, I am not one to be messed with, I might make you cry! The one particular aspect of this horoscope I found most insightful was the 'Loves deeply but at times will not show it as it feels it is a sign of weakness' part. Loving people comes scarily easy to me, but letting these loved ones see it will be a constant struggle on my behalf. It is a part of me that I wish I could understand, because love was always given so freely to me but I am unable to be as open with my own often unexpected and intense love.
So according to my 'horrorscope', I am a somewhat emotionally crippled, volatile sex addict who really does have a tender side buried deep down somewhere beneath her tough archer exterior. Or we could go with a more positive spin on things, and submit for approval the final interpretation of my astrological casting mold:
'The one who wants to love as deeply as she wants to be loved. The one who will give herself to the people who deserve it; those who can not only tolerate her private universe but will try to understand it and offer her new ways of thinking, feeling, and communicating in order to escape it.
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