Walking With A Toddler

Walking around the base with a 23 month old gives me plenty of time to stand around and wait while she explores the heavy ant traffic streaming across the sidewalk or the bird caca lying there.  I took a picture of this bird of paradise flower.

I am still waiting ten minutes later ten feet away from the first flower.  I stare up at this for a long time before I see that the flowers are shaped very much like the first flower.  Could this be a white bird of paradise?

And here we are back at the first bush again.  Her views are usually closer to the ground.  I look up at the volcano and the flowers and the trees.  She looks down at the ground.  She bends over, rests her hands on her knees, content to look as long as the ants don't start crawling up her legs.  Ants crawling up her legs is something she definitely does not like.

Waiting

Here is Sicily I am waiting for my second grandchild to appear.  It has been almost two years so I almost forgot what it is like waiting in hope for a loved one to suffer pain.  So far she feels no pain and I feel good and bad about that.  The end of pregnancy is not a time where a parent has much control - a huge warning sign that parents don't ever have much control over their children.  We sit, we walk, we wait and eat great food. My granddaughter plays and calls out "Grandma?" as I wash the dishes.  I reply, "Yes, dear?"  She repeats "Grandma?" 25 times.  Twenty five is a lot of repeats but the sound of her little voice does not get old. We wait.  Sometimes, well, more than sometimes, every time we leave the Navy base we drive over bumpy roads.  The roads to the base are extremely bumpy.  We go to a dinner party at a friend's house. I meet people from China, Hawaii, Romania, and Brazil.  We sit outside eating in the yard while ash from Mount Etna settles on our hair, clothes and food.Waiting is good. Waiting can be fun.

Schipol

You give up a lot when you travel.  You give up money, comfort, privacy, control, food, drinks, and even the time of day.  Finding my way through the airport in the Netherlands has not been too difficult so far.  At first the Dutch language reminded me of the German or Polish I heard as a kid.  Now that I am waiting for the next connection, the language has shifted to more Italian. I prepared for this trip by watching a collection of Sicilian movies. I still can't understand the language but it feels familiar.   I had a long wait in the security line for non-European passports.  On a giant two story window was a huge clock with a diameter of about 15 feet.  The hour hand was dark brown.  A figure of a man behind frosted glass painted the minute hand very carefully.  When the minute was up he wiped off the paint with a rag and proceeded to paint the next minute hand.  He paints and cleans up paint every minute around the clock. He has to bend down because he keeps his supplies on the floor by his feet, down by the 6. If you have to stand in line for a long time, this unusual clock certainly helped pass the time.

Proposals

Today at lunch we were talking about proms.  That lead us to proposals to go to prom which are now known as promposals.  One coworker's daughter was invited to prom by a huge banner held aloft by the ladder on a local fire truck.  One coworker felt that the elaborate proposals to go to prom will lead to higher expectations for marriage proposals.  We talked about marriage proposals.  One woman at the table told her future husband that they were getting married.  That marriage is still on.  Another woman at the table was asked for her hand in marriage but responded by saying, "Let me see the ring first."  That marriage is still on.  Another woman at the table said, "You're kidding, right?"  That marriage is still on.  An older man is at the table and he isn't saying much. He is quietly munching on his sandwich and staying out of the conversation.  So I ask him, "How did your proposal go?"  He swallows his sandwich and says, "I just knelt down to tie my shoe. It was untied.  I was totally innocent but she said 'Yes' and now we've been married for 53 years."  His story was voted the best.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

You can learn about history by studying history books and memorizing dates. To know history you have to hear the stories of the real people involved. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding gave me an understanding of world war two that I did not have before and greatly appreciate now.  At the beginning of each chapter Jackie Copleton gives the definition of a Japanese concept which I think was an extraordinary way of introducing what comes next.  This books covers difficult and uncomfortable ideas in a gentle and healing way.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

I picked up this book from the library because I saw it on a list of best novels somewhere. I had no idea it had been translated into 37 languages.  The story takes place in Columbia, South America and covers 100 years and seven generations of the Jose' Arcardio Buendiaz and his wife Ursula.  This couple founds the town of Macando.  Some of the stories involve magic and some involve actual events in Columbia.  Many things happen in 100 years including civil wars and American fruit companies taking advantage of the country folk.  The railroad comes to town. The male heirs of Jose' and Ursula tend to be reckless and impulsive and the females are strong and successful.  I liked this book because it is so different from those I usually read.

Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge

Today a sibling and I visited the refuge across from the Minneapolis airport for a marshbird training.  Like last year a male turkey was positively vibrating in self-approval at the window almost the entire time.

After our training we went for a walk and saw all these violets blooming.  This picture doesn't do it justice because it was literally a carpet of  purple, light purple, and white blooms. We walked all the way down to the river bottoms in search of the Dutchman's Breeches we saw last year. No luck there but ironically we heard a sora rail and a Virginia rail calling!.

 

We hike back up the hill and what does my sibling spot?  Dutchman's breeches!