Stop studying. Have
fun! This is the note Sebastian scribbled on a piece of
paper and delivered to me at 7:45 am on a Monday morning, the first day of my
extended school practicum. When I asked Liliana one evening where Ima is on her drawing depicting the three figures she identified as Sebastian, Liliana, and Aba, she said “oh this is those days when you’re at school until night.” Their recurring refrain is now a running joke: “Ima always misses all the fun.”
It’s true. Studying all the time can get isolating and gloomy. Sometimes I just need some familial reminders. My mother used to place little notes in our belongings when we went away to summer camp. I would stick my hand into my shorts pocket to find a “Thinking of you, have a great day!” note or open my toiletry kit to read: “You must be getting ready for bed. Brush your teeth well and sweet dreams. I love you.” Finding a note in some fortuitous pocket was always a delicious treat. Now my six-year old son sends me off with notes in the mornings.
know better by now: to give my “last call” alert (“ok I’m leaving, bye
chamudim [cuties]”) five minutes earlier, so as to cue Sebastian and allow him the time
to swiftly prepare his morning note. But when it comes to early morning
procedures, my body is languid and my learning curve is low. And so day after
day, I stand near the door, shifting my feet, glancing anxiously at my watch,
declaring “I’m already late” while I await the note that will accompany my typically rainy
journey to school.
hour. His “davka” moments, I’ve learned, are invariably transformed into
moments of grace.
on the night of our return from Hawaii, where his father’s preferences, from
m&ms to Iced Americanos are meticulously documented and illustrated.
His notes integrate text and image in a detailed and symmetrical manner.
developmental psychology. I am quick to recognize the verbal and visual learner
in our home. As well as the physical one:
something”, Liliana calls out as I begin uttering my goodbyes and heading toward
the door. But a moment later I am swathed by a colossal body-hugging embrace.
will blurt out the “I forgot something” phrase instinctively as I begin to call
out “ok bye chamudim (cuties)” while getting my coat. On occasion, I will
remind her, as I approach the door: “Have you forgotten something?” The snug
hug that she runs and delivers is my reminder, my wake-up call, my keepsake. It keeps me going. For my sake,
and theirs.
‘note’ something, we make special mention of an idea, appointing it as
meaningful in some way; when we hug someone, we ‘note’ the meaningful sentiments
that accompany our relationships. Both notes and hugs are frequently designed
as an aide to memory. Both are compact,
compressed forms; they contain few words and vast universes.
unit, I taught my students the poetic power of omission: the presence that settles
when absence perches. (That is not how I explained it to a bunch of 13 year
olds.) Very simply, the students were to turn a narrative paragraph into a poem
merely by leaving out certain words:
something
go
it is also true that they conceal vast worlds.
“Ima…”
“ken yaffa sheli” (yes my beautiful), I replied blearily, unaffectedly.
(ko’es=angry)
anger, free of gloom, free of anxiety, free of stress. I wanted to take her beautiful face in
my hand and illuminate the freedom I wish for her. To tell her that when I say יפה
שלי (“my beautiful one”) I also mean “my strong one” or “my courageous one” or “my
thoughtful one”, I mean the beauty that is not contained in outward appearance,
I mean the harmonious and the dissonant, the smooth and the jagged, the fairy
princess and the brilliant wizard, the butterfly and the scorpion, I mean YOU,
my child, can be anything you want to be. Even ko’es (angry).
Saturday morning, a few weeks later, I turned to Liliana as she was nuzzled
beside me in bed: “ani ohevet otach” (I love you).
With an impish twinkle in
her eye she countered: “lo at lo ohevet oti, at meta ali” (No you don’t love
me, you’re crazy about me).
As she said this, her laughter bubbling over, the “fun” that I too often miss out on, gurgled
from my belly and into my heart.
her tight. And jotted my note:
laundry
fridge, I can never run out
salad
and
barbies.