I don't dread getting old. Well, I definitely hope I'm able to remain vital; still being a runner into my eighties would be a definite bonus. I do think about getting older, but more in the context of watching my kids grow up and wondering what they'll be like. ...and how they'll see me.
But I also think a lot about being older and looking back on this time of our lives, when Sonja and Haven were little ones. I think about how happy I'll be that we have all of these pictures to look back on to remember what we all looked like back in the day. I'm happy they'll be able to see how utterly beautiful they were.
Sonja and I were talking the other day about how she is growing older (she likes to talk about how she used to be a baby but now she's getting bigger) and we started talking about her baby pictures. I've made a point of making her and Haven their own photo albums so they can look at pictures of themselves as babies. I told her that when she is all grown up she will have thousands of photos of her childhood to look back on. I was so pleased to tell her this that I felt tears in my eyes.
Haven is practicing different sounds and I'm getting an idea what her speaking voice will sound like, aside from the shrieking, grunting, giggling and "dada"ing we normally hear all day. She moves her tongue around in her mouth while using her voice and when she finds a noise that pleases her, she pauses and then repeats it again and again, playing with volume and inflection. She appreciates it when I mimic her and follow her lead. I could watch and listen to her do this all day, but inevitably she loses interest, or is distracted by something and it's over until the next time. I suppose that it is this fleeting quality that keeps it so appealing.
Sonja is making fast friends at the playground. She will approach any little girl of similar age and introduce herself, usually with a wave just centimetres from the little girl's nose. Within seconds, she is trying to hug or even kiss this little girl and will quickly grab her hand to drag her off to play. She has been lucky that most of these girls have gotten over their initial apprehension and have played with Sonja really well. There have been a couple instances when the girl is either too surprised or too nervous to play along and I've had to explain to Sonja that not everyone will want to play, even when you introduce yourself so nicely. I've had to explain to a few parents that Sonja means well with her almost-aggressive affection. And not surprisingly, tears have ensued a couple of times when we've had to say goodbye to a newfound best friend.
My girls. May they always be this lovely.
