Today, we hit the park after picking up O and Jo. (These nicknames only apply to our pickup line chant. We don't call them O and Jo -- we just yell it out gleefully while we wait for teachers to march them to the car line:) A baby girl at the park (maybe 16 or 18 months old) took an interest in Girum, Tarikwa, and Taye, alternately. Tarikwa has a funny ambivalence about small kids outside of her triad. She's VERY nurturing. Very small babies, cousins, or children that seem unincluded get her full onslaught of empathetic tenderness. Other kids, though -- big kids or kids unfortunate enough to want a toy that Tarikwa has in her possession -- see a different side of sweet Tari...a silent, square-shouldered, eyes-averted tenacity that defies description. The little girl at the park was dancing on the line between compelling sweetness or stoic territorialism until Tarikwa played a little peekabo, and softened when it made the park baby laugh. I commented on their sweet interaction, "I think that little girl really likes playing with you Tarikwa." Tari smiled and then looked at me, confused for a moment, before asking, "Mama, where's her brothers and sisters?" It really struck me how much Tari's universe coalesces around her place in a constellation of family. Right now, she has only a limited understading of how intricate and peopled her constellation is. I'm just so grateful to be a part of it.
Ellen & Lazar
5 years ago
2 comments:
first of all, you are such a great writer..."Tari's universe coalesces around her place in a constellation of family." WOW. i love reading about your family and adventures. but sadly, it's going to have to just stay as reading and not getting together since we moved from muncie to nebraska. i meant to tell you on a post you made about the indy children's museum (oh how i miss it!) but i probably forgot. i do that alot. but, yes, we would get some good socialization practice if we could orbit with your constellation for a bit. :)
love the header pic, btw. and how you call out "o" and "jo". very cute.
first of all, you are such a great writer..."Tari's universe coalesces around her place in a constellation of family." WOW. i love reading about your family and adventures. but sadly, it's going to have to just stay as reading and not getting together since we moved from muncie to nebraska. i meant to tell you on a post you made about the indy children's museum (oh how i miss it!) but i probably forgot. i do that alot. but, yes, we would get some good socialization practice if we could orbit with your constellation for a bit. :)
love the header pic, btw. and how you call out "o" and "jo". very cute.
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