A second Little Prince!

Un deuxième Petit Prince!

Meet Oisín, Cathal’s little brother, born this morning. Isn’t he beautiful?

Voici Oisín, le petit frère de Cathal, né ce matin. N’est-il pas beau?

Because of restrictions on visits in maternity hospitals at the moment (related to Swine Flu) neither Cathal nor myself have seen him yet “Face to Cuddles”, but Cathal is not too impressed by the photos.... Though to be fair he asked to look at the “baby” again this evening.... Small steps....

A cause des restrictions des visites en maternité en ce moment (à cause de la grippe A) ni Cathal ni moi n’avons encore pu le voir « pour de vrai avec câlins », mais Cathal n’est pas trop sur de ce qu’il en pense en voyant les photos.... Mais pour être juste, il a demandé à regarder de nouveau le « bébé » ce soir.... A petits pas....

One Two Three… Five!

Our Little Genius!

The Wheel of Life

It ended almost the same way it started, very cold, and very white. Almost right up to the last few days of December, snow paralysed our little isle, just as it did at the start of the previous January. Never had we seen the likes of it before. Down to minus 17.5 Celsius! Unheard of in our usually very tempered Atlantic climate.

Also unheard of were the events that brought us where the country now is: in such an economic and financial Arctic winter that my great-great-grand-children might have to pay the final cost it!

I got very angry during the year. The revelations kept coming, some criminal in my view, but who am I to judge, when I am only a taxpayer? An invisible fog kept lifting on the increasing ineptitude of a government which was found to have as much back-bone as an over-cooked spaghetti. Being the person I am, I tried to rationalise the situation, to understand how it all came to pass: I read the articles, I listened to the experts, I watched the documentaries, I followed the debates. And then I sat back and to paraphrase the great Miley Byrne, all I could say was: “Well Holy God!”

I don’t know what 2011 will bring us. But there is one thing I am certain of: I am not going to be bored. The mess has been made, we just have to accept it, and then find new ways not only to clean it up, but to improve, to progress. It is always in times of crises that ideas germinate best. History has taught us this, it’s in our nature, as human beings, to go around in cycles. The Wheel of Life is such a good analogy: it turns and turns, everything is repeated, going up, and down, and up... and yet humanity moves forward, with each turn. On a personnel point, if what is afoot comes to fruition in the next few weeks, I will really look forward to the challenge of doing my little part in the mess-clearing and improvement-setting. Fingers crossed...

And yes, the wheel is turning, on every level. Our own family is moving at its own pace. My own boy has “grown up” a little more in 2010 – though he will probably hate me for saying this. But he has chosen well, she is so nice! My own girl is “growing”, literally, and I can’t wait for this second grandchild to arrive in about 7 weeks’ time. Cathal is an absolute charmer: I was on the phone to him only yesterday, and, as always, he did not say much, but kept chuckling every time I spoke, and then sending me kisses... Major melt on this side, as always.

All in all, 2010 finished on a few good notes, all brought about by very simple pleasures.

Pleasures like Santa Claus bringing Cathal the third character in a series that is now complete for him. He was so thrilled.

Pleasures like ripping open lots of presents on Christmas morning:

NB: Cathal’s Mammy – who has never been much of a morning person – was the one most anxious to get up to see what had been delivered, and had the whole household downstairs around the tree by 7.30 am!

Pleasures like having Daddy pulling you up the hill in an ingeniously-thought-of-by-Mammy sleigh to make sure we could all have a scrumptious family Christmas dinner:

I'm ready, let's go!

Here we come...

Ho ho ho!

Pleasures like teaching Daddy how to use your very first laptop:

NB: You may need to turn the sound up on your pc

And finally the very simple pleasure of walking-walking-walking, especially when Mammy is there for stability and Nana is there to record it all:

Wishing you all the best you can have in 2011.

Playschool?

My oh My! It has been a while since I blogged. Two months in fact! I have never before been so silent, and this is not like me… In truth it has been a mixture of over-busyness (most of the time) and lapses into deep laziness (temporary but so rejuvenating). It is not that there is nothing to report. It is more that too many fingers into too many pies don’t do much for Reflection.

The main event, the one that I have wanted to post about for a while but did not get around to, started a few weeks ago. In itself, it is one of those “little things” we take for granted. One of these steps that occurs as part of life with a young child, that parents (and grand-parents) celebrate but don’t make that much of a big fuss about, because it is expected, it is the norm. In Cathal’s case, of course, it is much more.


When Cathal’s Mammy was very small, she liked playing on her own in the house, but came to a stage when it became obvious she needed more. Also her little brother was on the way, and I needed more time for me. So at age 2 ½ she went to playschool. She was the youngest there, and started as a shy but observant little girl, not saying nor doing much for the first few weeks, just watching thoughtfully. Until one morning the teacher asked, in Irish, what colour was the object she was holding… perfect silence around the circle of children. And then Cathal’s Mammy timidly puts up her hand. You see, from birth her dad spoke Irish to her, and her mum spoke French to her, and she heard English all around… so colours in Irish were no problem to her, even at 2 ½! From that day on, there was no stopping her.

When her brother reached the grand old age of 2 years minus 1 week, something had to be done: he could not understand why his big sister was going to school and he was not. He would go around the house feeling sorry for himself, sighing, and generally looking so bored it broke my heart: I could recognise myself in him, having grown up as an only child until I was twelve, and having hated so much the loneliness and boredom due to lack of siblings around me. So the week of his 2nd birthday, he was farmed out to playschool a couple of mornings a week, and he loved it!

My children may have gone to playschool a little earlier than most, at least by Irish standards at the time, but it was inevitable that they would go, it was expected, it was part of the curriculum every child goes through.

Cathal took his turn to starting playschool a few weeks ago. In itself, nothing major about it. Except that it is a Montessori school. Not special needs. Not Early Intervention. Not Skip. Just good old-fashion, run-of-the-mill, ordinary Montessori school. And THAT is major for Cathal.

Finding such a school was not that easy. The fact that Cathal does not walk, and that he is still in nappies, meant a few “no’s” were expressed in what would have been his parents’ first choices. And then this one came on the radar. It is also a crèche, and the Montessori sessions (e.g. the school part of it) are also available to all the children in the crèche from 12 months of age. So bum-shuffling nappy-wearing little ones are not an issue there. Cathal was more than welcome.

The first time, he was there for just one hour. His Mammy reported that he was happy to see her, but not over enthusiastic at going home. The second time, he was there for two hours, and almost ignored her when she came back. Since then he does not want to come home, and is now staying a full three hours once a week. After Christmas, he will go twice a week, giving his Mammy a well-deserved break and quality me-time (especially before the new baby arrives!) Most importantly, Cathal gets right in the middle of things, follows the other children, gets involved in all the activities, has his 11 o’clock break like anyone else. The other children do not know any different. He does not know any different.

In short, total integration. More than anything else he has experienced in his life so far, that is the first true step towards independence. No matter what kind of education system he follows later on, mainstream or special, this little school is contributing to giving him his own space in society.

I am very proud of him for willingly accepting this new challenge, and very proud of his parents for ensuring he is given this chance. I am also very thankful to the playschool for saying “yes, no problem”. And I am wishing all educational places that come along his path in the future will have the same attitude towards him.

It’s the little things

Ce sont les petites choses


It is so easy to go along life taking things for granted, and then despairing that progress is not taking the more conventional route. Cathal is constantly reminding me that Little Things matter much more than I would have given them credit for.

Il est si facile de voyager dans notre vie en prenant les choses comme des événements naturels, et en se désespérant quand les progrès attendus ne suivent pas la route espérée. Cathal me rappelle constamment que les Petites Choses ont beaucoup plus d’importance que je ne suis prête à leur donner.



Little things like standing:
Most children start standing around 8 to 10 months, to start walking around 12 to 16 months. When a 10 months old child pulls himself standing for the first time, we naturally marvel at this new acquisition, yet we expect it. It’s the way it should be.

Des petites choses comme se tenir debout :
La plupart des enfants commencent à se tenir debout vers 8 à 10 mois, et commencent à marcher vers 12 à 16 mois. Quand un enfant de 10 mois se met debout de lui-même pour la première fois, naturellement nous émerveillons de ce nouvel acquis, mais en fait nous nous y attendons. C’est dans la nature des choses.


Cathal is 2 ½ years old and he does not walk. In fact he does not pull him to stand up on his own… Or does he? A couple of weeks ago, he was in my home and I was preparing a bath for him (he had asked me for it). There I was, getting it ready. There he was, sitting on the bathroom floor, flinging toys over the side into the tub. I turn around to take his sponge and bath gel, turn back – Cathal is standing up all by himself, holding on to the side of the tub, looking in with delight at the floating toys. Progress – Little Thing – Big Joy.

Cathal a 2 ans et demi et ne marche pas. En fait, il ne se met pas debout tout seul… Mais cela est-il bien vrai ? Il y a deux semaines, il était chez moi et je lui préparais un bain (il me l’avait demandé). Donc je préparais le bain. Il était assis par terre dans la salle de bain, lançant les jouets par dessus le rebord et dans la baignoire. Je ne tourne pour prendre son éponge et le produit de bain, me retourne – Cathal est debout comme un grand, se tenant au rebord de la baignoire, regardant avec plaisir ses jouets qui flottent. Progrès – Petite Chose – Grande Joie.



Little things like eating sweet food:
We expect all children to like sweet food, to be inquisitive enough to want to try everything, and develop a taste for what we perceive as “nice”. And Chocolate being a favourite for most people, we expect all children to like it. And most do.

Des petites choses comme manger des aliments sucrés :
Nous pensons que tous les enfants aiment les aliments sucrés, sont assez curieux pour vouloir tout essayer, and développent un goût pour ce que nous pensons être « bon ». Et comme le chocolat est un aliment aimé par la majorité des gens, nous pensons que tous les enfants l’aiment. C’est le cas pour la plupart.


Cathal is very particular about food. He used to eat very varied types at one stage, but at one point decided to eat only his favourites and nothing else. And his answer to the suggestion to anything outside of the list is “NO”, or more often a very teenage-sounding “Noooooo”!… Or is it? Lately he has been very interested in some biscuits that he takes out of the packet himself, when he thinks that we did not know what he was doing. But always staying well away from the chocolate ones. This until a few days ago, where one was devoured with great satisfaction, and then the proof was shown to us with mischief. Another Progress – Another Little Thing – Another Big Joy.

Cathal est très difficile en ce qui concerne la nourriture. Il fut un temps où il avait l’habitude de manger toutes sortes de choses, mais il a finit par décider qu’il ne voulait manger que ses aliments préférés et rien d’autre. Et sa réponse quand on lui suggère quelque chose qui n’est pas sur la liste est « NON », ou plus souvent un « Noooooon » aux accents d’adolescence !... Mais cela est-il bien vrai ? Ces derniers temps il est très intéressé par certains biscuits qu’il sort lui-même du paquet, quand il pense que nous ne savons pas ce qu’il fait. Mais il évite toujours ceux au chocolat. Ceci jusqu’à il y quelques jours, quand un fut dévoré avec beaucoup de satisfaction, puis la preuve nous fut montré avec beaucoup de malice. Un autre Progrès – Une autre Petite Chose - Une haute Grande Joie.

But the best little thing lately has been that Cathal, unlike most 2 ½ year olds, recognises letters, knows their sounds, and associates them with other concept. This clip gives a flavour – though of course as any true star he was more interested in watching himself on the camera screen that being recorded! This is more than just Progress, this Big Thing – Big Joy.

Mais récemment la meilleure petite chose est que Cathal, comme peu d’enfants de 2 ans et demi, reconnaît les lettres de l’alphabet, connais leur son, et les associe à d’autres idées. Ce clip vidéo donne une idée – bien que, évidemment comme toute star, il était plus intéressé à se regarder sur l’écran de l’appareil plutôt que d’être filmé ! Ceci est plus que du Progrès, c’est une Grande Chose – une Grand Joie.
(Petite explication qui ceux qui ne connaissent pas l’anglais : dans cette langue, le son de la lettre « i » est aussi le son du mot pour « œil »)

Little things make all the difference, show us that progress is happening, even though we might not believe so. Instead of thinking of what is not happening, we should always focus on what is.

Les petites choses font toute la différence, nous montrent qu’il y a progrès, même quand nous n’y croyons pas. Au lieu de penser à ce qui ne se passe pas, nous devrions toujours nous concentrer sur ce qui se passe.