On my way home from Lowe’s (the first time today), I was listening to Lily make truck noises over the drone of NPR, and something about the release of the newest Play Station caught my ear. Apparently, I stepped off the planet somewhere around 1989, because I have just learned that kids are spending four-plus hours a day playing electronic games (a-HA! I almost said video games), and that part of the fun is tooling around on the Internet – and here's the kicker – just watching other people play the games!
And I thought to myself, My god. We are going to evolve into a species that does not speak. My offspring, onto whom I am zealously and self-righteously projecting my love of language and languages, is/are going to beget offspring who are going to beget offspring who are going to beget (you get the picture)... people who DO NOT SPEAK. And then I thought to myself (linguistically), Mother scratcher, I forgot the mounting hardware for my blackout shades.
So it was a fleeting moment of indignation, replaced by dread: turning the car around; navigating the one-way streets, the potholes, the traffic, the obnoxious woman in the blinds aisle; taking Lily out of her car seat again, stuffing her into the sling again, and bribing her waning patience with a pass through the ceiling fan section, where she pointed at the immobile fanscape and made circles with her finger in the air.
Ah, that made it all worthwhile. The touches of recognition, the signs that she’s absorbing everything: Fans are supposed to go around and around. But these fans are not. So I will make circles in the air to publicize this egregious physical violation, and make it known that the betrayal has not passed unnoticed. Then I will have another Goldfish, please.
welcome to blog land! Your writing is delightful, and the pic of your daughter in a Brooklyn park is making me terribly homesick!
Posted by: Erin O. | Friday, 17 November 2006 at 02:09
Yes, yes, exactly. Pointing out when fans aren't spinning, lights aren't on, cars aren't moving. You've captured it beautifully.
Posted by: Rebecca | Friday, 19 January 2007 at 14:31