One small step. One big milestone. My mother told me that I started walking sometime in my 10th month and because our darling Mandarin still has no teeth at nearly a year old, we figured she would walk first - and she did! Well, not quite walking just yet. A few steps, independent in nature, followed by the sudden clutch of security hand on sleeve or arm or hair as she finds her bearings.
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| Loving Lala |
And while on the subject of bearings, I’ve managed to find a book of rhymes that tinkers with the heartstrings of my own childhood. Mother Goose and its sometimes subversive and meaningless yet highly memorable collection of limericks and rhyme shaped the rhythm of my childhood. It’s a substantial start for poetry, playful and fun - Mandarin doesn’t understand it yet of course. Still, it doesn't stop me from reading it to her. Even if all she wants is to eat the book, or point at the images in it and say...“Bah!”
The images that Gyo Fujikawa brought to this book of rhyme took this to an even deeper level of nostalgia. The illustrations are simple and innocent and in my opinion, exactly what young children should be looking at. But then this is the day and age we live in, and while the world out there is harsh and tough; the pace is fast and unforgiving. I choose to keep it simple with our usual parade of songs and rhyme. And laughter. There should always be the enlightenment of laughter.
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| Old School Charm You know you're a fan at heart. |
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| Possibly one of my favorite illustrations in the book. It's a small world after all.... |
As Mandarin takes baby steps forward, I take leaps ahead and nurture thoughts of how to create and maintain a safe and happy home for her; memories that will deeply be rooted in her childhood so that when she does start walking tall in the world, her bearings will be solid and fixed so she can always find home no matter where she is.
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