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Day 271: Who makes me happiest?
Aug. 20th, 2012 11:41 pmIn general, this is a stupid question. The -est part, anyway. But one true answer to this question is my nieces, R. and R. Hanging out with them is always something that makes me happy. I've gotten many chances to spend time with both of them; they've slept over separately and together, we were in Lake Geneva together, I will be babysitting them all day tomorrow and Wednesday, and we'll go school supply shopping, which has always been something I love to do anyway -- office supplies, hell yeah! I can get the stuff on my list for the opening of my own school year, god, there goes more money from savings, sigh.
R. the elder is entering middle school -- sixth grade, here in the US, which is kindergarten plus five, and has kids from age 11 to 12. It's going to be a huge change for her, and I am very curious about what she will think of it all. R. the younger is entering third grade. She gets a little testy when asked to read and write, and it's hard to believe that response is not at least partly in reaction to her older sister's obsession with both of those things. I hope she can learn to let go of that definition-by-opposition thing, and will eventually learn to enjoy reading for its intrinsic pleasures. Meanwhile, she is an intrinsic pleasure in herself. Both Rs are very emotionally sensitive, but R. the younger seems to want to intervene and help others when they're in (emotional) pain. They're both incredible artists for their age, and it's fun to draw with them. R. the elder has had an ongoing fascination with the Middle Ages of late, and loved E. L. Konigsburg's A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver as much as I did (I think I wrote in LJ a long time ago about the fact that Konigsburg's YAF book about Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine taught me everything I needed to know about her historically, and compares favorably to Alison Weir's historical monograph on the subject). She has enjoyed most of Karen Cushman's YA medieval fiction oeuvre also. I love how R. the elder devours books.
R. the younger -- my sister describes her as a sensualist, and I think that is exactly right. She cares how things feel and taste and sound and smell and look, in great immediacy. She thinks about what music she likes, and can explain it. She loves the odors of spices and herbs and flowers and essential oils. She loves touch, and is extremely affectionate and touchy-feely, in a very good way. She likes specific combinations of bright colors -- and of course, she likes the bright colors and glitter of Bollywood. She's very good at games of imagination and plotting, and she can explain how things work -- she's very verbal. Right now she is extremely into Glee despite not getting many of the jokes (thank christ for that). She manages being a younger sister and thus in a frequent state of frustration quite well, I think. She has a lot of patience.
Being with both of them makes me very, very happy indeed.
R. the elder is entering middle school -- sixth grade, here in the US, which is kindergarten plus five, and has kids from age 11 to 12. It's going to be a huge change for her, and I am very curious about what she will think of it all. R. the younger is entering third grade. She gets a little testy when asked to read and write, and it's hard to believe that response is not at least partly in reaction to her older sister's obsession with both of those things. I hope she can learn to let go of that definition-by-opposition thing, and will eventually learn to enjoy reading for its intrinsic pleasures. Meanwhile, she is an intrinsic pleasure in herself. Both Rs are very emotionally sensitive, but R. the younger seems to want to intervene and help others when they're in (emotional) pain. They're both incredible artists for their age, and it's fun to draw with them. R. the elder has had an ongoing fascination with the Middle Ages of late, and loved E. L. Konigsburg's A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver as much as I did (I think I wrote in LJ a long time ago about the fact that Konigsburg's YAF book about Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine taught me everything I needed to know about her historically, and compares favorably to Alison Weir's historical monograph on the subject). She has enjoyed most of Karen Cushman's YA medieval fiction oeuvre also. I love how R. the elder devours books.
R. the younger -- my sister describes her as a sensualist, and I think that is exactly right. She cares how things feel and taste and sound and smell and look, in great immediacy. She thinks about what music she likes, and can explain it. She loves the odors of spices and herbs and flowers and essential oils. She loves touch, and is extremely affectionate and touchy-feely, in a very good way. She likes specific combinations of bright colors -- and of course, she likes the bright colors and glitter of Bollywood. She's very good at games of imagination and plotting, and she can explain how things work -- she's very verbal. Right now she is extremely into Glee despite not getting many of the jokes (thank christ for that). She manages being a younger sister and thus in a frequent state of frustration quite well, I think. She has a lot of patience.
Being with both of them makes me very, very happy indeed.