We've found a polite baby-sitter whom the little one gets along with great. yay. So we tried to go to the movies for the first time in a year and a half. and failed. And failed again. And again. Until eventually we succeeded and went to see Iwo Jima but ended up seeing The Last Scottish King.
But that's not at all the point of this post. The point is that during one of those missed movie opportunities, P and I were having all kinds of interesting talks. Somehow I got on the topic of comparing the US to a big jungle and France to a petting zoo. I don't know where the inspiration came from, but it actually fits rather well.
In one case you can be in any of the strata of the food chain of the jungle - some of them suck real bad. In the other, you are guaranteed food and health care and a roof and some level of protection from the lions, because, really, there are no lions in petting zoos.
But what do you do if you're in the petting zoo and one of you wants to be king of the jungle?
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Most popular video online in France last week: tv journalism account of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in food causing lesions in liver, pancreas and testicles; accompanied by the cover by mansonto and governments; outrage over protection of private company's economic interest vs. public health.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
agency
After four whole seasons of experience; four seasons to set our lives topsy-turvy and enrich them beyond imagination, the little one turned one last week.
It may be due to this milestone, to the fabulous present from my mom when she babysat to give us 24 hours of freedom, or just that the right time has come, but I feel ready to transition to a slightly different family balance, one where she is less at the center, and more one of three.
And what blows me away these days is not her age but her agency - her free will if you prefer that terminology.
She decides unexpectedly this afternoon to practice and master walking backwards.
She develops a sudden interest for hats and glasses, and resulting in thigh-slapping funny impersonations: Rambo with her black headband, Ray Charles with her sunglasses indoors (she feels compelled to hold her mouth open when wearing those sunglasses).
She hugs, walks away, brings a book for me to read, comes back for another hug, sorts the clothes pins (winners: blue-and-yellow, losers: orange-and-green), is back for another hug.
She is determined to help us dress and undress her: socks and shoes and tights are a favourite, as are her hats as we've mentioned. But also her diapers!
At the end of the day, when I look at her (less bald) head resting on her mattress, I can't help but feel that I have two versions of my daughter: the sleeping one, which has been steadily growing in PJ sizes, a good looking toddler; and the awake one, whose developmental leaps and bounds astound me. She occasionally seems physically so small then when she's (finally) asleep.
But boy do I love the sparkle in those eyes.
-----
Obstetrics in Japan: C-sections, single digits of Epidurals.
No right to Habeas Corpus in the US? according to US Attorney General Alonso Gonzales
It may be due to this milestone, to the fabulous present from my mom when she babysat to give us 24 hours of freedom, or just that the right time has come, but I feel ready to transition to a slightly different family balance, one where she is less at the center, and more one of three.
And what blows me away these days is not her age but her agency - her free will if you prefer that terminology.
She decides unexpectedly this afternoon to practice and master walking backwards.
She develops a sudden interest for hats and glasses, and resulting in thigh-slapping funny impersonations: Rambo with her black headband, Ray Charles with her sunglasses indoors (she feels compelled to hold her mouth open when wearing those sunglasses).
She hugs, walks away, brings a book for me to read, comes back for another hug, sorts the clothes pins (winners: blue-and-yellow, losers: orange-and-green), is back for another hug.
She is determined to help us dress and undress her: socks and shoes and tights are a favourite, as are her hats as we've mentioned. But also her diapers!
At the end of the day, when I look at her (less bald) head resting on her mattress, I can't help but feel that I have two versions of my daughter: the sleeping one, which has been steadily growing in PJ sizes, a good looking toddler; and the awake one, whose developmental leaps and bounds astound me. She occasionally seems physically so small then when she's (finally) asleep.
But boy do I love the sparkle in those eyes.
-----
Obstetrics in Japan: C-sections, single digits of Epidurals.
No right to Habeas Corpus in the US? according to US Attorney General Alonso Gonzales
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