Kiddos and plump awfulness
Tonight I went to a meeting of the Munich Wanderers, an english-speaking group of hikers in the area. Seemed like most everyone was German though, and there to practice english? That was fine, it was an interesting group of people. I ordered the evening menu to eat and regretted it. It was two plump watery sausages that the knife could barely cut through, and then the insides came swimming out. I was appalled! I managed to eat most of the internals of one of them, but then I got completely grossed out. No offense to sausage lovers, normally I'm a big one. But I just never saw this kind of...thing...before.
Anyway, a neat lesson from an older guy named Erik, from Swabia. He said teaching children is setting an example for them. So, when his boy was little, he'd ride in the back seat and tell his dad if he was over the speed limit. Erik used to speed, and say "bullshit" to all that speed-limit nonsense. But with the "controller" in the back seat, he said "oh, okay" and slowed down right away. Erik thinks that this helped the boy learn good social manners. If he saw his dad breaking rules, then he'd feel entitled to do the same. He might obey rule X or Y, but would always be opportunistic in looking for a rule to break. "Children are like apes!" said Erik.
I also just loved the story Kris told me last night about the little fellas in their room at night. What a picture she painted! I can just see Rowan crawling jerkily towards the open door with it's sickle of light, half asleep, yet excited to be a part of the activity. He is just beaming but his eyes are puffy and closed against the light. He is so happy! And yet he falls asleep again, crumpling forward as if the batteries died.
And Elijah, sitting up in the dark somehow. Right when the door opens he is looking at you! Did he know you were coming? What was he thinking in there? What made him sit up? And he's learning the work banana, or at least working very hard at learning it. Kris said he studied her face intently each time she said it. Perhaps he was sitting in the dark, saying "na na", still working hard on it. That's my boy!
And how she'd lie down next to Rowan, who would be so overjoyed with happiness to have a visitor that he'd lie there smiling and looking at her and beaming. Unable to sleep he begins crawling in a circle to burn off happiness, always coming right back to be next to his mom. Smiling again. The cycle begins anew!
I like how Rowan bangs the keys with abandon, and Elijah always plays b-flat and occasionally the two adjoining black keys: never two notes at once! He'll look around for acknowledgement of his composition. How does he know there is an end, when he should look for applause?
Being away for awhile, these transmitted memories have the glimmer of trophies, and I don't want to forget them.
Anyway, a neat lesson from an older guy named Erik, from Swabia. He said teaching children is setting an example for them. So, when his boy was little, he'd ride in the back seat and tell his dad if he was over the speed limit. Erik used to speed, and say "bullshit" to all that speed-limit nonsense. But with the "controller" in the back seat, he said "oh, okay" and slowed down right away. Erik thinks that this helped the boy learn good social manners. If he saw his dad breaking rules, then he'd feel entitled to do the same. He might obey rule X or Y, but would always be opportunistic in looking for a rule to break. "Children are like apes!" said Erik.
I also just loved the story Kris told me last night about the little fellas in their room at night. What a picture she painted! I can just see Rowan crawling jerkily towards the open door with it's sickle of light, half asleep, yet excited to be a part of the activity. He is just beaming but his eyes are puffy and closed against the light. He is so happy! And yet he falls asleep again, crumpling forward as if the batteries died.
And Elijah, sitting up in the dark somehow. Right when the door opens he is looking at you! Did he know you were coming? What was he thinking in there? What made him sit up? And he's learning the work banana, or at least working very hard at learning it. Kris said he studied her face intently each time she said it. Perhaps he was sitting in the dark, saying "na na", still working hard on it. That's my boy!
And how she'd lie down next to Rowan, who would be so overjoyed with happiness to have a visitor that he'd lie there smiling and looking at her and beaming. Unable to sleep he begins crawling in a circle to burn off happiness, always coming right back to be next to his mom. Smiling again. The cycle begins anew!
I like how Rowan bangs the keys with abandon, and Elijah always plays b-flat and occasionally the two adjoining black keys: never two notes at once! He'll look around for acknowledgement of his composition. How does he know there is an end, when he should look for applause?
Being away for awhile, these transmitted memories have the glimmer of trophies, and I don't want to forget them.
posted by Michael Stanton at
9:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home