I am attempting to write this with my father sitting across the table staring at me. I used to find this unsettling, and sometimes, I still find it irritating, despite myself, but today has been a relatively good stuck-in-the-house kind of day, and I'm enjoying having him here with me.
Because of this new project, I spent a lot of the day bugging my family, taking their photographs. They are kind of used to this behavior; only my son showed some resistance - he's a bit of a hermit, and I think he finds this invasive. It's so hard for me to correlate my own childhood with his, because he is living in such a strange digital age of which I have no equivalent.
(My father has just informed me that he is going to sit in the other room. My father doesn't do anything without telling me first. Anything.)
Anyway, at the end of the day, I have seventy photographs. Seventy photographs of moments I thought were worth taking a photograph of. Of course, not all seventy of these are quality photographs. Some of them are Lily taking pictures of her hands and of the ground. Some of them were captured two seconds after the moment I was trying to catch. But even these photographs signify the something Other I am looking for.
(My father was just pacing me around, and I asked him to stop because it was making me nervous, so now he's sitting across from me again.)
And because, for once, I was trying to focus on the positive - instead of cursing the Gods for every stubbed toe, for every spilled cup of milk, for every time Dad asked if he could go to the bathroom, and where - I ended up with a day so good that it is hard for me to pinpoint just one event by which to mark the day.
(Dad just asked if he could go sit in the other room again. He is getting up now, and joining Lily and Dana, who are watching Little Bear- a very comforting program.)
It was a great day for playing, and we were all snowed in together for New Year's Day. It was lazy, and full of child rangling, and being silly. I was downstairs this morning tossing the laundry and could hear Dana playing with the kids above my head. It was a great sound.
Lily and I retired for our weekend nap. I am a great lover of naps, so I look forward to this weekend activity that I miss out on during the work week. Lily actually fell asleep in her high chair during lunch. She does this more than you would think...Dana carried her upstairs, and we crashed on my bed together while Dana and Liam hung out with Grandpa downstairs, watching billiards. (Lily and I really missed all of the excitement...)
I watched her sleep for awhile. She sleeps with her eyes open a bit, just like Seth, and just like my brother, Rob. It must be some weird genetic thing. It's very disarming unless you're expecting it. Despite this creepiness, it's a very cozy feeling to take a nap with your child!
Because of this new project, I spent a lot of the day bugging my family, taking their photographs. They are kind of used to this behavior; only my son showed some resistance - he's a bit of a hermit, and I think he finds this invasive. It's so hard for me to correlate my own childhood with his, because he is living in such a strange digital age of which I have no equivalent.
(My father has just informed me that he is going to sit in the other room. My father doesn't do anything without telling me first. Anything.)
Anyway, at the end of the day, I have seventy photographs. Seventy photographs of moments I thought were worth taking a photograph of. Of course, not all seventy of these are quality photographs. Some of them are Lily taking pictures of her hands and of the ground. Some of them were captured two seconds after the moment I was trying to catch. But even these photographs signify the something Other I am looking for.
(My father was just pacing me around, and I asked him to stop because it was making me nervous, so now he's sitting across from me again.)
And because, for once, I was trying to focus on the positive - instead of cursing the Gods for every stubbed toe, for every spilled cup of milk, for every time Dad asked if he could go to the bathroom, and where - I ended up with a day so good that it is hard for me to pinpoint just one event by which to mark the day.
(Dad just asked if he could go sit in the other room again. He is getting up now, and joining Lily and Dana, who are watching Little Bear- a very comforting program.)
It was a great day for playing, and we were all snowed in together for New Year's Day. It was lazy, and full of child rangling, and being silly. I was downstairs this morning tossing the laundry and could hear Dana playing with the kids above my head. It was a great sound.
Lily and I retired for our weekend nap. I am a great lover of naps, so I look forward to this weekend activity that I miss out on during the work week. Lily actually fell asleep in her high chair during lunch. She does this more than you would think...Dana carried her upstairs, and we crashed on my bed together while Dana and Liam hung out with Grandpa downstairs, watching billiards. (Lily and I really missed all of the excitement...)
I watched her sleep for awhile. She sleeps with her eyes open a bit, just like Seth, and just like my brother, Rob. It must be some weird genetic thing. It's very disarming unless you're expecting it. Despite this creepiness, it's a very cozy feeling to take a nap with your child!