I'm sure nobody is checking this blog to find out how Libby's day went, but I'll post it anyway. She called about 6:00 and said that everything went fine. She passed, after about three hours of head-aching academia. Hurray! So, that's out of the way. She's not a "master" yet because she's still got a class to finish this semester and then another, final class, in the spring, but this was the most stressful element that needed to be completed. And now it's done.
Unfortunately, while she's been gone, there has been a flurry of developments with the smallest one. Moments that, sadly, Libby will never be able to get back because she was gone educating herself.
The first happened late this afternoon. Gabe asked if he could take the car out to Sonic to meet some friends (oh, yeah, Gabe can drive now, too--they grow up so fast), so it was just Button and I here at the house. She was lying on her little fleece blanket on the living room floor and I was watching my "stories" (about one hundred hours of language education programming that I recorded off the university channel some time back--I'm presently working my way through Esperanto). Then, quite unexpectedly, she rolled over onto her stomach, propped herself up, then stood, all on her own! While I sat, gawping in open shock, she proceeded to take her first steps over to my chair! It was truly the most remarkable thing I've ever seen.
Then, about an hour later (Gabe was up in his room with some sleazy little something something that he picked up at Sonic, and lord only knows what they were doing up there--probably playing with his puzzles! The shame), I had Button in her little activity saucer. I had moved on to my OTHER stories (interpretive dance routines that I had recorded off the Arts channel before they canceled it forever a few years back--and the world has never been the same for me since), and finally, after a few minutes, Button gave up on subtly trying to pry my attention away from my show and opted to peg me in the head with a half frozen teething toy. I looked down on her and she had that stern look on her face that will, someday, burrow into the very souls of her own children, and she spoke her first words!
She said, "Daddy, I want you to know that I love YOU best because you wouldn't leave us for a week to pursue higher education."
To which I replied, "You will never have to worry about me being gone for something like THAT. Education is for losers. But, you should know, if I ever had the opportunity to go somewhere else for an entire week, I'd jump at the opportunity to leave the house. Nothing personal."
She considered this gravely for a few moments, but then her face lit up as she came to a conclusion. "I can't blame you, father of mine. Kids can be a handful. All we ever do is take, take, take. I know that some day we'll be able to return the favor because you plan to use up your body in such a way that the last decade or so of your life will require someone to keep constant watch over you, but that's such a dreadfully long ways away. In the here and now, you are saying that you would enjoy a week of peace and relative quiet. I can respect that."
"Thanks, Butts," I said. "You're aces."
"It's only because of your caring, patient tutelage, dearest daddy. Without you, all would be for nought."
She went on from there with a five minute soliloquy about how wonderful I was. To be honest, it got a bit trite at times--lots of references to "light" and "summer" and "hope" and whatnot. But, then, she's only five months old, so I can cut her a little slack. She hasn't been around enough to know what is and isn't a cliche. I was pretty impressed at how well-rehearsed it sounded, though. I guess she's been putting her time alone in her crib to good use. Good for her!
Now if I could just figure out a way to get Gabe's trampy play date to leave.
Man, I could go for a Sonic burger and a cherry-lime sprite: 32oz's of blindness inducing sweetness... oops... gone and wet myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd I doubt Button said 'nought,' unless she was discussing empirical data. It should be naught. But then she is from Kansas so her personal lexicon would be limited.
Oh Pat....I read this out loud and Liz is SO impressed by our brilliant daughter and our lascivious son!
ReplyDeleteActually, according to dictionary.com, the definitions of "naught" and "nought" are pretty much the same, though it looks like "nought" is perhaps an archaic usage. Possibly, though, since she was speaking, she might have meant "knot," though I'm not sure how that works into the context. Possibly she was throwing out some nautical terminology at me. She HAS been studying some Middle English, though, so maybe she did mean "nought." I just don't know. She's too smart for me.
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