Constellations by Brian KershisnikAfter 5 days of visiting with Riley's lovely mama (more importantly known as Margaret's dear, dear Nana), today is a lazy day. The little girl and I had rice-a-roni for lunch, "mmmmm MOMMY! GOOD FOOD!", and M&M's for breakfast, snack and second lunch. She is sleeping and I am trying to stay awake.
Zuzu talks so much now. She is "HUNGRY!", "THE BABY IS HAPPY!", "GO ON!", "DADDY BACK!", "OH HUG. NICE!", and my personal favorite, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" (Said with a bewitching mix of desperation and toddler contempt. Really, quite fetching.) If it can be said in 7 words or less, Zuzu says it. Loudly.
Her favorite word, by far, is "STAR". Really, stars are her favorite...everything. The fascination began with the celestial bodies in the opening scene of Princess and the Frog. The star shines brightly, the heroine is introduced, hijinks and love follow. Obviously, those sparkly lights are harbingers of good things to come. Her love of all things "STAR!" quickly expanded to encompass US Bank billboards, the NFL logo, astronomy pictures on google image and the American flag.
For Margaret, there is no such thing as a simple drive across town. Every time we get in the car she taps into some primal hunter-gatherer aspect of her genetic history. The only difference between the girl and her hungry ancestors? She is not looking for berries or non-poisonous mushrooms, no, my daughter is looking for stars.
And she finds them. EVERYWHERE.
"STAR! MOMMY!"
"Yes, Margaret. Good job. There is a star on that flag."
"MOMMY! STAR!!!"
"What? Oh, I mean, yes. There is a star on that sign. Good girl."
"STAR. MOM. STAR!"
"Okay. Now you are just making things up, there is not a star....oh wait. Oh. Yes there is. The girl driving next to us. Has a star tattoo. On her neck. Um. Good job."
The thing is, Margaret sees stars everywhere, because they are, well, everywhere. It is like some vast right wing star lobby is working behind the scenes to keep us earth dwellers good and aware of our sky bound neighbors. (This seems a stretch, even for a conspiracy theorist like me. I mean, where is the profit?) Dismissing the cosmic cabal theory, one is left to assume that the rest of the world is as star centric as Margaret has become. Perhaps it is because we need to know there is something out there beyond just us, or maybe stars, are like, totally back in, because a Kardashian said it was so.
And she finds them. EVERYWHERE.
"STAR! MOMMY!"
"Yes, Margaret. Good job. There is a star on that flag."
"MOMMY! STAR!!!"
"What? Oh, I mean, yes. There is a star on that sign. Good girl."
"STAR. MOM. STAR!"
"Okay. Now you are just making things up, there is not a star....oh wait. Oh. Yes there is. The girl driving next to us. Has a star tattoo. On her neck. Um. Good job."
The thing is, Margaret sees stars everywhere, because they are, well, everywhere. It is like some vast right wing star lobby is working behind the scenes to keep us earth dwellers good and aware of our sky bound neighbors. (This seems a stretch, even for a conspiracy theorist like me. I mean, where is the profit?) Dismissing the cosmic cabal theory, one is left to assume that the rest of the world is as star centric as Margaret has become. Perhaps it is because we need to know there is something out there beyond just us, or maybe stars, are like, totally back in, because a Kardashian said it was so.
It doesn't really matter.
Margaret has felt the power of a symbol and what it represents. What a gift! Clear nights are heralded as miracles, as she points from, "STAR!" to "STAR!" to "STAR!".
A little thing. It has made my life better.
That's adorable! I love that little Margaret! It's been WAY too long since I've seen her...
ReplyDeleteLittle ZuZu is a star.
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