Esmé
They’re re-roofing the house today. Ess was transfixed by the trucks coming and going and cranes lifting. She stood at the window and watched, the stillest I’ve seen her be while awake and healthy. “Beep beep” went the truck, “bach-up, bach-up” went Ess, shuffling backwards away from the window.
Mother’s Day: today, the last thing Ess did before we took her upstairs for bed was carefully remove each Winnie the Pooh character from her wooden puzzle and tuck them in under the couch pillow. Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl.
“Mahn-ee Dada. Mahn-ee!” Ess says as she grabs my finger and pulls. That’s how she says “come on over here.” How could you say no?
A Tall Tree’s Tale; the beginning and end of Encino California’s 1,000 year-old oak.
Heartsick, I myself took nothing more than a single, small leaf that I still have. It was enough.
“Crouching Tigga, Hidden Deek: A Memoir of My First Two Years of Life”
by Esmé Micek
Breakfast at Oasis Café this morning, the first time we have ever been there, and what looks like the beginning of a fine tradition. I’m always so proud when Ess colors with her crayons, eats our food, and enjoys herself when we eat out. I look ahead to summer vacations and little weekend jaunts during the school year with great excitement. I love to get a glimpse of the world through her eyes, to see the world again through that lens.
Out of nowhere, Essie says two word sentences to us. This helps us meet her needs and wants, until she runs out of the correct words. Then we’re back to sign language and grunts. We’re also seeing the advent of frustration, whose development I find interesting yet a little sad. This little girl who before would sit and try to do something over and over, showing perseverance but no frustration, will now get immensely frustrated over her inability to do something, typically something physically intricate.
The upside to this is that we get to begin our role as teachers. We get to try to help Ess become a person who responds with patience to frustration, empathy to pain, courage to peril. As I read about the television show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood”, I find that betterment is the core message. That there is a person in you with intrinsic worth, who has all kinds of feelings and needs, and your truest self comes out when commit to the most human, least animalistic actions: compassion, generosity, patience, kindness. A real mensch.
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