Monday

April 16, 2001

many babies in the mirror

I love my Mom! I think she looks a lot like me.

you aren't supposed to pick the bluebonnets so I'll just investigate this grass...

When you are around kids who are pre-verbal, it's natural to ask 'what are they thinking?' Of course, it should be natural to ask that about all of the other humans around us. We never really know.

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I started my day off slowly, doing a few things I wanted to around the house. Then I headed out to do a few errands on the way to my Mom's.

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I suggested we go to the dead mall to walk around. (Northcross.) Dad said he'd go if we went to Lakeline so we did that. Mom was in favor of it because she wanted to shop for a dress.

Little Jack fussed a few times but was distracted by Cheerios, a bottle, a cookie and games of hide and seek as well as the mirrors. Dad sat outside more than one store, on a bench, with his cane with the handle taped up with silver tape. Looking like an old man. At 84 I guess it's allowed.

Mom found a dress. She wasn't sure about it at the end of the day but she bought it. It was the third store we'd tried, I think. It was purple. Or lilac. Something like this. Maybe. I can't remember color. I resolve to take her to a calm, boutique dress shop (Melba's) I know where they will give her special treatment and find some dresses for her. I'll do it for a Mother's Day present. I have to be gone that day so I'll do it before.

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We went back to Mom and Dad's house and had leftover lunch. Jack actually took a nap, too.

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Jenny and I took Jack for a walk on the greenbelt. He liked everything about it. He saw bugs and butterflys and a dog. He picked little yellow flowers and made lines with a stick. He enjoyed clamoring over rough ground holding a finger or two. He walked by himself in the meadow and sat down to investigate the grass and flowers. He thought walking up the steep hill to Dad's and Mom's was extremely funny, a sweaty fist around my finger and his Mom's. I was tired but he was ready to run and play some more.

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I watched part of the Monday Night lineup (Boston Public, Ally, and Third Watch) at Mom's and finished it at home. The trouble with four-day weekends is they have to end. Of course, the week will now only be four days long. That's a good thing.

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All day I wondered what Jack was thinking. What he meant when he pointed his finger. It's clear he understands 'go' and 'no' and 'Cheerio.' He watches the smallest movement when we are outside...of a bug or ant. He perks up at the sound of a dog. He squeals with delight when his Mom plays with him. He picks himself up off the floor or ground dozens of times. He figured out how to open the doors because they are designed for disabled people and have lever handles at a convenient height. He seems to be ready to say 'Mama' and 'Ball'. He loves the ball and learned to kick it with his foot. Maybe soccer as well as golf? He uses his fingers deliberately. When I tell him to 'punch this key' on the laptop, he does it. When his mom asks where his Cheerios are, he goes and finds them.

But then, what is anyone thinking? My mom usually verbalizes everything she's thinking. So it seems. Dad is more reticent. Today he allows that he doesn't feel very well. Groggy, he says. Later he says he's better. He is going to get up at dawn to take his granddaughter and great grandson to the airport. He says he was a toddler when the last of his grandparents died. He and I were talking about getting an AC adaptor for his 12-volt refrigerator he carries in the van sometimes. As I quested on the Internet, he watched. That's the first time I've seen him take an interest in the computer unless something was already printed.

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