Various Delays

Sometimes the thought hits you sometime after something else does ... a DELAYED conclusion is the result.
And one needs a talent to sing in a choir so early. I think the kind of singing, when one repeats the phrase of the other in a short DELAY is called a cannone, no?
DELAYED proof is sometimes needed to make a humorous anecdote into a true story.
Read all about these DELAYS in the following blog entry.


Jonathan likes to toss things, just like any baby his age (10.5 months) and his motoric movements are not optimal or 100% controlled, he also does not really understand his true strength (neither do I...amazing how strong babies can be...) and so today, he flung a wooden stick so that it hit him on the head. In his frenzy to keep tossing things, he did not stop to cry after being hit by the stick but rather continued to look for the next toy to toss, and then in mid action he stopped short, screwed his face , as if about to cry and then scratched his head where previously the stick had hit him, obviously hurt, but not understanding why... a classic delay in thought and registration. The kind of stuff that makes sitcoms (situation comedy, if anyone was curious...) right up there with slipping on a banana I think.

Tonight, as we put Jonathan to bed he was not too happy about it and was complaining rather vocally for a while (until he got too tired and gave up, falling asleep). The funny thing was that at exactly the same time an equally unsatisfied child was climbing up the stairs in our apartment house and wailing as well. Jonathan's room is close to the wall that separates our apartment from the public stair case, and hence the effect that I heard from the living room was a wailing duet! Anyway, Jonathan and the boy (one of the neighbors...but I do not know which) were answering each others calls, and it was almost like a conversation in which one complains and the others join in to strengthen and support the bad opinion being expressed. Truly a master piece. Probably the other boy did not want to go to sleep either...

A third delayed occurrence, almost like a cannone song, shows itself in the following little anecdote.
The ladies at the day care center love to complain about Jonathan's activity, after all when the boy is loose, he is everywhere and nothing remains in place. He leaves a trail of havoc, just like a hurricane. The last story they supplied was that one of the day care center ladies was sitting with one of the mothers and they watched the children in play. Jonathan was on the move , as always, and the care taker was always trying to prevent him from making a mess. And so she found herself always repeating his name with the word “don't!”. Jonathan, don't pull the hair of child X (he is 10.5 months old how can he know he is pulling? He is just being friendly) , don't bite child Y (he likes to shove everything in his mouth – like all babies his age - people are no exception, and he had two teeth, how can a bite be prevented? He is not being mean, he just doesn't know better) Jonathan don't toss the toys from the drawers, Jonathan don't topple the drawers over your head...and so on...

After a while the care taker went to the toilet, leaving the children with the mother who was sitting there. From the toilet she could hear that the mother had taken over the role of instructing Jonathan as to what he should not do, even if her style was different...she liked to ask questions rather than scold. And so sitting on the toilet the care taker could hear the following monologue “ Jonathan, why do you pull child Z's hair, it hurts her you know...Jonathan why do you bite child C, you really should not bite him, Jonathan why do you toss the toys over there, you could put them back in the drawers, they are still standing you know...” and so on.

Two days after hearing this story I was sitting on the toilet in my parents house and my mother was looking after Jonathan and sitting with him in a near by room. And then I heard it! “Jonathan, don't! Jonathan you cannot pull the DVD off the TV table! Jonathan! don't toss the DVD cassettes! Jonathan! No!The books belong on the shelf! And so Jonathan landed in his pen, where he could play freely and my mother could rest and bask in the fact that her house was still standing, and I could finish my business in peace....