This is how my mind functions (or malfunctions) these days - perhaps a sign of incipient senility? I think of literary quotes that are just barely relevant, like the title of this post, taken from Charles Baudelaire's "Au Lecteur" ("To The Reader").
Anyway, I think of it because Jonah each day seems more and more like me. He reminds me of my four year old self. Last night while we were reading at bedtime, he asked how to MAKE a book. I got all excited, and since he has today and tomorrow off from school, I decided it would be a great project. Of course, I made a book at his age, but mine was pure autobiography, drawings of my family members, my house, etc. Jonah's project is of a far more grandiose scale. It is called Coney Island Rides, and so far there are two pages of illustrations and one half-page of text I transcribed. I am worried he has lost steam, now, and won't finish the book. I have such a strong need to staple the pages together and present it to him as the prize it is. To invest it with the meaning that my mother did for my small book, so long ago, to assess it as a valuable object - something worth saving, something worth keeping away from a marauding younger brother.
Marauding younger brother is lucky he is so damn cute. Today, extreme heat kept us house-bound for most of the day, and Abe learned how to climb up and stand on the piano bench, and also learned that from the ground he can reach the piano lid to open it and (precariously) close it. Eek. Time to find the keys that lock the piano. Not sure what to do about the bench, though. He's been unbelievably lucky with all the climbing he does, but that luck will run short at some point. Right? Or does he have an angel on his shoulder, as I feel I sometimes do?
The aggravation of having a real toddler (Jonah seems to have been an overly-cautious impostor of one) is tempered by watching my boys play together. They erupt in silly sounds, chase each other around the house, and just generally delight in one another's company. It makes my heart happy, even on an exhausting day like today. I get to the evening feeling solid, competent, yea, even optimistic.
Or maybe it was just that second shower.
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2 comments:
Your two sound like my older two! Tal is cautious, wise beyond his years, never attempts a task that could turn ugly in heartbeat. Luca dives/climbs/leaps before thinking. And generally manages to land on his feet. I think it's when I caution and warn too much that he falls flat on his face...
And... (she asked, knowing it might prompt curiosity on the state of readiness of her ovaries) which end of the spectrum is the youngest???
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