Month: April 2011

Do you hear the Diva sing?

We had a Parents’ Consultation at Daniel’s nursery yesterday evening (we don’t have Parents’ Evenings apparently. We have Consultations). All in all it was a glowing report, aside from his short temper which we’ve known about since he was a few months old. He is seemingly a whiz at maths and number skills – didn’t see that coming!

He’s also very independent and strong-minded. As his teacher pointed out, this can be a good thing. He’s standing up for himself with children who are all bigger and stronger than he is (he’s one of the youngest in his class) and it’s good to know he can do that, particularly since I myself am such a wuss!

It’s turned out for his teachers to be a double-edged sword though. He’s very fond of singing and music, and he’s developed a passion for the song Do You Hear the People Sing? from Les Misérables. It’s taken him a few weeks to get to grips with the words – after all, we’re not talking Jack and Jill here. His nursery rhymes haven’t prepared him for lyrics such as “The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France” (his teacher’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when we told her that line… ). But he’s pretty much got all two and a half minutes off pat now and he loves singing it. Over and over and over. He’s also quite a perfectionist and if he gets a word wrong he starts again. If his audience aren’t duly appreciative, he starts again.

Which brings me neatly to the point of today’s post. His teacher gave us this story from yesterday. They were all sitting down together for music time and Daniel decided that the time was ripe to try out his repertoire on his classmates. He insisted on treating them to a gala performance of Do you hear the people sing? and launched into full diva mode. About half way through what is a fairly long and repetitive song for a class of three and four year olds, he noticed some of the other children had started whispering and letting their minds wander away from the cultural feast that was, frankly, being wasted on them. He immediately stopped singing, complained vociferously and demanded to start again. His poor teachers (who deserve a medal) endured the whole song again, begging the children to be quiet so Daniel could finish his song.

When I picked him up he proudly showed me his sticker and told me he’d got it for singing Do you hear the people sing? for Mrs Badger and Mrs Burton. I can only think they were so relieved to get to the end that a sticker seemed a small price to pay.

My son, the diva, obviously has a long and glorious career in show-business ahead of him. I hope Cameron Mackintosh is prepared.

Conscientious Objections

If you listen to what I witter on about regularly you might know that I’m a staunch pacifist. I do not believe there is ever a justification for war. I know this opens  up a whole can of worms – such as “What about Hitler?” and the like – and I don’t have clever answers. If I did I’d be waiting for my Noble prize by now. I do believe there is always a non-violent path available IF people are willing to look. I also know that while a few people like me might not make much difference, change has to start somewhere tiny. I’d also like to point out that pacisim is not passivity. I will protest as much as I can – hopefully more and more.

So this post, C in the A to Z Challenge, is a little celebration and toast to Conscientious Objectors. Men and women who have, despite the consequences, stood up for what they believe is right and in the sanctity of human life. I believe it’s more important now than ever, when conflict after conflict breaks out without us apparently batting an eyelid. Whether it’s the West attacking selected countries on “humanitarian” grounds (that may or may not just happen to have oil reserves) or totalitarian regimes of any country murdering and torturing its citizens, thousands of people are being killed all over the world every day and people are being sold the lie that fighting in these conflicts is the ‘right’ thing to do. The First World War, as an example, was sold as a glorious quest against the rampaging greed of the Germans (which to be honest is a cheek considering the extent of the British Empire) and hundreds of thousands of British soldiers were killed.

Conscientious Objectors faced ridicule, estrangement from loved ones, even prison for refusing to join in with the conflict; others assuaged their consciences by acting as ambulance aides and medics. Luckily we don’t face the threat of conscription as they did. If I was given a paper tomorrow commanding me to sign up to the military on pain of imprisonment I hope I’d have the courage of my convictions. I know a lot of people will not agree with my views. There will be the arguments against evils such as Hitler or Hussein – to which I would answer that evil begets evil. I know many will agree in principle but suggest that it’s not a practical position.  In the meantime, I’m going to keep voicing the objections of my conscience to all conflict and violence, and trying to pass them onto my children.

Bye Bye Baby!

B in the A – Z challenge is probably for birthday. Next week Emily turns one, although some of the stuff she does makes me wonder at times if she’s actually closer to ten. And with her first birthday we’re leaving babyhood behind.

She’s already more of a toddler anyway. She wanders around the house, sometimes purposefully, sometimes aimlessly swinging her arms and looking for mischief (which she always manages to find) but always steady and sure. She babbles away with herself and us; Daniel loves trying to decipher what she’s saying. I have a feeling we won’t be able to stop her once she can talk properly. She’s beginning to show a strong stubborn streak and a temper and it’s obvious that we’ll be having some battles. So in some sense we’ve already left babyhood. Or it left us when we weren’t looking.

Of course, we’re not just talking about Emily leaving babyhood. It’s all of us. We’re not planning any more children and that means that we’ll have to retire things like the crib (which is still standing in our bedroom, as if we can’t quite bring ourselves to dismantle it), the pram, the steriliser which never really got used much anyway since we had a small microwave one that was far more convenient. The babygros are getting put aside for a car boot sale instead of the next baby, and for every piece of clothing that she outgrows I have to decided if I can let it go. Some things, like her coming home from hospital outfit, or that dress or those booties, are being kept as long as we have the space.

Some things I’ll not be sorry to lose. The weaning spoons – I really didn’t enjoy weaning. I love the stage she’s at now where I can give her real food and watch her enjoy it and discover new tastes. She seems to have a broader range of food than Daniel did, but sometimes the memories are a bit hazy and maybe Daniel ate a wide range of things at this stage too. That’s scary – it’s only two years since he was at this stage and it’s hazy already? How am I supposed to remember these things when they’re ten? Or twenty?

I look back at Daniel’s baby pictures and sometimes it’s hard to relate that baby to my little boy. Daniel is so strong and vivid a personality, he comes out with the most amazing words and phrases, how could he ever NOT have talked? Or walked? Or decided he was going to do something and then just done it? And how did he interact with Emily? Wait – there was no Emily??

So we’re leaving babyhood. But I know from watching my clever, beautiful boy that toddlerhood is just as wonderful and scary and amazing. I’m waving bye bye to that part of our lives as happily as I waved goodbye to the part where I wasn’t a mum or the part where I was a ten year old girl dressing up as a bride or rocking my baby doll to sleep. They’ve all been amazing parts of my life, but there’s a time to wave bye bye to it and look to see what’s next.

 

A is for Author…

It’s April 1st! If you read my post the other day, All About April, you’ll know that I’m taking part in the April A – Z Challenge. And if you didn’t, well, you do now.

And to kick off the month, welcome to my ebook launch!

I know it’s a tenuous link, but hey, it’s my blog. I get to make and break the rules. 😉

Some Life Somewhere is now available to buy from Amazon Kindle and Smashwords (other formats, inc US Kindle) and it’s also listed on Goodreads but looking rather lonely without reviews (just sayin’…)

The book is a series of short stories told as dialogues, exploring some of the Big Questions of life, death, and the tricky bits in-between.

To celebrate I’m giving away a copy of the book in your preferred format. If you want to enter (and why wouldn’t you? ahem…) leave a comment on this post or on my facebook page (with a ‘Like’!) answering the following question and on Sunday night (3rd April) I’ll draw one answer out of the hat:

What would your ideal alternative life be?

Have you answered? Excellent, here’s a virtual glass of champagne, and cheers!