Letter to my children: On distractions and street signs

Dearest Beloveds,

In some respects these two subjects are related - distractions and street signs. Both of you are right now gazing beyond on a level that you hadn’t before. Watching you emerge into sentient curious aware humans with your own interactions with the wider world is honestly one of the many joys of parenthood. Thank you.

Bean, you are now reading street signs. We are now fully immersed in the second grade curricula - which means we are reviewing the word families and consonant blends of 1st grade, summarizing stories, memorizing poems, and reading reading reading (huge shoutout to the Usborne Books). Not surprisingly this has begun translating into, “Momma, does that say OOOnEEEE, WAHHHHHJ.”

What in the world is she looking at?

“Oh no, darling, try again, that is a magic E, and the Y is silent for the next word.”

“One Way?”

“Yes! You got it!”

A wave of accomplishment and success rolls over me from the back booster seat, I catch your eye in the rearview mirror. “You did it! Isn’t it nice to understand the what the signs say?”

Honestly, Bean, I say that to you as an encouragement to your efforts - but there is something really nice about not knowing what the words say. The first time I ever went to a country with a different alphabet plastered all over the place - the lack of knowing and grokking and input was rather lovely. Disconcerting, yes, but also a nice relief from the constant push of words and ideas and thoughts and marketing we are bombarded with in the world. A bombardment that does motivate your reading - for which I am grateful - but it is also a thrust into our brain as unavoidable noise, which can be very distracting.*

Which brings me to the Dragon.

Dearest Dragon, you have recently been telling us that you cannot focus on eating because you are distracted.

“Dragon, could you take a bite please of your breakfast/lunch/dinner? It has been 30/40/50 minutes and we need to leave the house/get in the bath/go work outside.”

“Momma, I am too distracted, the Bean is dancing!… Momma, I am too distracted! The music is too loud!”

And my most recent favorite - we had left the room, the music was low - “Momma, I am too distracted by the wind!”

“By the wind?” I look outside. There was nary a leaf turning. Then I see one tree with a few dancing brown leaves. “The leaves are distracting you?”

Earnest pleading eyes gaze up at me. “Yeesssss. I am so distracted.”

I don’t think teasing him is a good idea here, but oh, so tempting. “Dragon! The wind!? Really?” The Bean jumps in.

“Okay, Momma will help you finish up, pass me your plate.”

Oh my son, the wind, for serious - as your sister dives into the distractions of billboards you are actualizing the difficulty to focus when distracted.

Interesting tidbit, focus comes from the Latin, “domestic hearth,” - the realm of Vesta/Hestia, the hearth, the heart of the home, the center of our beingness - and the center from which the world of wind and words pull. Good luck to you both my beloveds, to maintain your focus and your center as you grow.

I love you both so so much - from my focus to yours.

*Learning Art History and having more background to art adds flavor to the experience - but that doesn’t feel like a thrust of input - that to me feels like a gift of knowledge.