The Ruark Kids » Dad

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

John — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:54:49 +0000

This past weekend, Siena and I were hanging out, which generally means she’ll do something for a minute, then run to another room to do something else, then back to the first room, etc. As mama will attest, this is how I tend to misplace things like wallets, keys, phones, books, toys, pens, and drinks. (The sequence of events being that Siena needs some help or hugs, so I put down what I was fiddling with, then we run to another room, and by the time we get back to the original room, I’ve forgotten I’d even put anything down in the first place. This mostly happens with my big fat wallet–fat because of various information cards like AAA, health insurance, day care, and the like, instead of lots of cash, sadly–which I usually take out of my pants when I’m going to get on the floor with Siena; a crucial thing to misplace and discover it’s misplaced right before having to leave for work the next day.)

On this particular circuit, I misplaced a can of Pepsi.

After a while, parched, I informed Siena that I was looking for my soda (soda being the prevalent name both where I spent my formative years outside St. Louis and where we live now, see http://popvssoda.com:2998/countystats/total-county.html for details). Where was I? Oh yes, I told Siena I was looking for my soda.

Siena, being the good trooper she often is, walked over to the cabinet that holds our (non-alcoholic) drinks, opened up the door, reached in, and grabbed and pulled out a Pepsi. She walked over and handed it up to me, and said, “Here you go, daddy!”

Bravo

John — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:00:29 +0000

I like to think that some of Siena’s parents’ music appreciation skills are rubbing off on the little one. Mom and dad both performed in college and post-college groups of one form or another. And now we generally assault Siena’s ears for good portions of her at-home time, whether it be with classical, jazz, new-agey stuff, or yes even the occasional noise that actually counts as popular in this desolate twilight of the waning music business.

Poor Siena even sometimes gets subjected to a dinner-time performance of dad trying to conduct some raucous classical piece like Rossini’s William Tell Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture, or Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture. Let’s just say it makes her laugh, and it scares our depth-perception-lacking cat. Dad should keep his day job.

The good news is that what with all this plus all the singing of the normal baby tunes that we do–and which Siena has started to do herself–she’s pretty exposed to music of many different lengths, moods, and forms. And it is amusingly rewarding for us, because she has learned that when the music stops, the piece is done: and if you enjoyed it then you cheer.

We’ll be driving home listening to the (light) classical radio station, and when a piece concludes, especially with a big symphonic sonic assault, Siena will often holler out, “yayyyyyy.” She’s even been known to clap some. There was even one time we were in the car driving back from a weekend away. Classical music was playing in the background, and mom and dad just talked right through the end of a movement. But Siena didn’t miss it: she cheered and got us both in stitches because we had missed the end of the music.

I also suspect Siena likes applause. I’ll never forget when mom had her white-coat ceremony in March of 2007, I was standing in the back of the auditorium with Siena in my arms, and whenever the applause rolled through the audience (at the end of each speech or when clapping for all the students), Siena just had a huge smile and was beaming and sometimes laughing.

So perhaps she has a career in live performance ahead of her?

Theme and Variations on Hippopotamus

John — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:57:57 +0000

(Programme note: In the following, imagine Siena saying “mus” as you might say “must” without the T, and with a longish drawn-out M sound. Each variation is repeated for several days.)

Theme

Dad: Hippopotamus

Variation I

Dad: Hippo
Siena: Hippo
Dad: Pota
Siena: Pota
Dad: Mus
Siena: Mus

Variation II

Dad: Hippo
Siena: Mus
Dad: Pota
Siena: Mus!
Dad: Mus
Siena: Mus!!!

Interlude

(Siena in crib, in the morning, pointing at an embroidered hippo on her savannah-themed bumper)

Siena: Mus

Variation III

Dad: Hippo
Siena: …
Dad: Pota
Siena: …
Dad: Mus
Siena: Mus

Variation IV

Dad: Hippo
Siena: Hippo
Dad: Pota
Siena: Mus

Coda

(Siena in crib a few days later, in the morning, pointing at embroidered hippo again)

Siena: Hippo