Tuesday, June 28, 2005
We're Back

It’s been a while. I hope that everyone didn’t give up on us.

I think Ani and her mom are doing as well as can be expected. Although everyone is still in shock, maybe things are starting to sink in and the family will slowly figure out what to do next. I don’t know what else to say about that. Tears will fall, and wounds will heal and then reopen for years to come. Ruby is a wonderful distraction.I don’t know how many times I can write about changing jobs and make it sound interesting, so this time I’ll just say that I didn’t like my “old job”, and I got a new one at one of the coolest restaurants in town. I work with lots of old friends, and I really respect the food, the attitude, and the manner in which the business itself is run. The only possible pitfall is that I am only there part time. Oh well, if the money stays as good as it has been, I’ll survive. I will use the extra time to study when I return to school in the fall. That is, if Ruby can keep it together in her new endeavor.Once again, she starts daycare in two weeks. This time, it’ll be at a home facility with no more than three other kids, and the lady taking care of her seems great. She’s got a background in art and art education for kids, so Ruby will be getting really messy with all kinds of paints and clays and other nontoxic makers of mess. I’m cautiously optimistic that she’ll be able to avoid expulsion this time. If not, I’ll spend another little while watching her at home. I’m not in too much of a hurry. Besides, the idea of losing my father/daughter daytime is nearly devastating; no matter how much stuff I’ll be able to get done while she’s in daycare. She talks more and more everyday. The things that she recognizes and acknowledges most readily are: ball, HiNora (a one word salutation to her favorite dog), Owl (I don’t know how to explain that one… there’s a picture of an owl in one of the hundreds of books in her life, and she knows it and recognizes owls in other books and magazines), kitty, bunny, no no no no no, yeah yeah yeah yah yah, Hi! (when anyone walks in the house), happy happy happy (she just likes saying that one), Daddy, Mummummum, Nonna (her name for my mom), broccoli, cheese, shoes, feet, etc. She says, “ohhh no” when she drops something, and “Muh” when she kisses her stuffed animals, cuddly pictures in books, or her parents. I am about to expand my home recording potential, and I’ll make some sound files to listen to soon. Prepare to hear, “AAAAAAAGH NO NO NO NO NO…. YAH YAH.” We have no TV, except as a DVD/Video player, neither of which interests her much. She does seem to enjoy playing video games with daddy. That’s my girl. I’m so proud.

She loves books of all kinds. She tears some apart; she brings others to me, demanding that I read them to her. Every night before bed, Ani lets her pick her favorites to read. She usually has a pile of ten or so. I think the most popular is our dog breed encyclopedia. Ani reads the name of each breed, and then some of the distinguishing qualities of said dog, “Extremely loyal, needs plenty of exercise, a fine watchdog.” Ruby responds by petting the picture, saying “good dog” or “Muh” with an exaggerated kiss. Ruby loves dogs. We’re going to have to figure a way to create a healthy respect for the potential danger of random dog encounters.

Now that I have the time, I hope to update more frequently. Ruby is too cute to abandon.