Day: January 2, 2005

bafftime

bathing the triplets has helped me shake off some of this blue.

seeing their little creased wriggling bodies is better than prozac.

first it was jasper’s turn in the tub. gone are the days when jasper cried whenever he hit the water. these days, his mouth is open, and his fists make a continual journey from water to mouth, in the hopes that he might get some extra nourishment. (i suppose there are nutrients in wee wee??) he looks at the water a lot, and is obviously confused by the splash and extra challenge of moving his legs. bathing jasper is fun because he is bewildered but thrilled. and those expressions are so evident on his face.

then it was carys’s turn, because she was next closest to the door. (ah, we are nothing if not scientific). figuring out that carys had done a poo, sebastian followed me to the change table and said,

tarys no clothes. tarys frow up.

well, she did earlier today, but now she is naked because it is bath time.

wassin go in baff too.

and boom, my little man started stripping himself of his layers.

quick discussion with magnificent charles, and we let sebs head into the bath with carys. the babies are learning daily ordinary events are made extraordinary when big brother wassin is involved.

tonight, much to carys’ delight, he grabbed the sides of her blue bathtub and swung her side to side, while i nervously told him to be very gentle. carys thought this was the greatest thing. she grinned and laughed. sebastian then poured water on to carys’ tummy, (only her tummy, not her face, mummy).

they had a great time, with sebastian demonstrating his recent swimming accomplishments of holding his face underwater, and then, much to carys’ uncertainty, kicking. while sebastian was showing off his floating abilities, carys accidentally kicked seb in the goolies, prompting him to shriek and say

naughty taris! go!

and it was time for her to get out of the tub so she did go, wrapped in a fluffy cosy towel.

then it was sela’s turn. seb got impatient waiting for his next bathmate (she had done a poo also, hence the delay), and was calling for her by the time she arrived.

i plopped her in the tub and immediately sebastian poured water into sela’s face.

cough cough, blink blink.

sebastian!

mummy, only sela’s tummy?

yes.

alright, tummy.

sebastian again demonstrated his kicking skills and sela was thrilled. she kicked as well and the two of them splashed and squealed, grinning and writhing. he almost knocked her seat off kelter, but all was well. and then sebastian started moving his arms in this experimental dance manner, and said "fweesile"

fweesile. i dont get it. tree? like the Christmas tree? help.

fweesile, sebbie?

fweesile swimming, mummy! not sela. sela too ittle.

ah. of course. fweesile.

so, my clothes are definitely dampened, but my spirits are on the rise.

to phuket or not to phuket

tsunami’s have tired me.

i don’t mean bored, or hardened. i mean wearied. i don’t want to watch television, open a newspaper, or even talk to a lot of people, because the main topic is tsunami.

we have donated money, but money is going to save some lives, not rebuild them. so many people have lost their livelihoods. yes, they are alive, but are now facing a life of poverty. their businesses were their future, their way of preparing a better life for their children. but for so many people, there are no more children, and no more businesses. it is just so sad.

it is no one’s fault, i would feel better if i could channel this anger at someone.

magnificent charles and i have a big decision to make now.

we have a reservation for kamala beach resort in phuket for february 8-15. we received a beseeching email from the owner yesterday saying the villa was still intact, please please come. the world needs to know it is safe to return to phuket. i have seen footage of tourists in phuket, know for a fact there are many divers and vacationers who are sunning themselves on beaches even today.

if we go, do we look callous? like we are saying to the others that died, "who cares, that was one month ago, we’re here and safe and having a great time, pass the tanning oil."

or, by going are we helping the thai economy? 40 per cent of thailand’s revenue comes from tourism.

magnificent charles and i want to do the right thing. we just don’t know what the right thing is, yet.