Richard Lee 1917-2007

Today's post is dedicated to Taiyo's great grandfather, Richard Lee. Being able to spend seven months of life together filled both them, and us, with incredible joy.

He lives on in our hearts forever.

Flowing with the current

A great example of the brilliance with which my wife lives each day was just recently exposed.

For almost a month now, Taiyo has been eating real foods. As with many babies I'm sure, he is apt to grab at just about anything, especially colorful spoons filled with colorful liquids.

Some might think to fight the baby for control of the spoon, trying to instill reason or forcing baby's hands down.

Yoshiko on the other hand has simply adapted to the situation, adding spoons as required.

Cycles

This is the very same pillow case I used when I was a child. How many of us have a few things from our childhood stashed away somewhere? I have a few things that still get use, and as Taiyo gets older there will be others still that I pull from storage.

Although generally I don't think of myself as being very item attached - I really enjoy things that connect me to a similar time to what Taiyo is now experiencing.

Personality

Someone told me that once your child reaches a year, the personality really takes off. I can say that as Taiyo has crossed the six month line, that process is well underway.

During the first six months, I grew used to observing and being affected by this being who was purely existing rather than consciously projecting. I experienced his straight existence as a great source of joy and the foundation of our interactions.

But now he is projecting - relating and reaching out to the world and to me in an entirely new way. I see it not only in how he interacts with other objects, but little signs in how he touches my shoulder when I hold him or how he asks to be picked up.

I know that this next sixth months will be a true awakening of that external projection as he comes into his personality and begins to amplify it out into his world. Exciting stuff.