Sunday, August 05, 2012

Ted Teaches


I went for a little trip last week to my favourite op shop.  Sometimes I just get a real feeling that I should go to the op shop NOW, as in TODAY.  And on this particular day I walked in to a little linen heaven.  I found that sweet little bowl (which Harriet has declared 'the beautiful bowl' and is requested for most meals).  And then a whole trove of gorgeous pillowcases for fifty cents each, a gorgeous purple flowered sheet which Ted fell in love with and wants pants from it asap.  Everything was in such great condition - even a sheet that I haven't photographed here but instead is now living with Zoe.  I called it a finder's fee, since she told me of what is now my favourite little op shop.  
 This is the quilt cover on the bottom of the pile lying in all its resplendent glory on Ted's bed.  Unfortunately the freezing conditions of late mean it is hidden under a purple coverlet and a woolen blanket, but Ted loves it and was very excited to lie under it the first night.  I was too - it's pretty darn funky.











Ted's individual style continues unabated.  Here he's modelling the latest in rope fashion.  The skipping rope has been tied around his waist, and then artfully slung over shoulder to create the neo-Toga-inspired appearance.  While he checks out the old phone (check out those crossed ankles, will you?), he happened to let that deliciously cute little tongue poke out.  He has a whole raft of little habits like this, not all of them cute of course.  He's an horrific mouth breather, for example.  And he loves to exasperate Harriet at least twice a day.  He also suffers from the rolling-around disease that afflicts all of our genetic offspring - noticeable today whilst out with a friend of Harriet's as both of our children were (literally) rolling all around a booth seat in a cafe, completely incapable of sitting still, whilst the friend sat there perfectly still.  You would have thought we pump them full of artificial colours and preservatives.  Perhaps we should.  

 
 Ted has been spending some quality one-on-one time with me during the week.  We spend a lot of our time playing role-playing games and reading books (of course).  Every now and then I manage to snare him in the headlights of a specific activity - such as embroidery as you can see here.  We also made two batches of playdough the other day which were a huge hit and he has loved playing with his little tub of dough accoutrement.


We also were outside playing Ted football (a unique hybrid of using the washing line, a football, an umbrella and the odd large stick - and there are even rules.  It's not for the fainthearted or logically minded) when I found a wasp wandering along in a slightly drunk and delirious fashion along the outdoor umbrella.  I hurriedly stomped on it, as you do when you have a curious three year old next to you begging to hold the wasp.  But miraculously, after stomping on it, the insect was in perfect condition.  Perfect condition, of course, being code for 'inspection quality' for the previously mentioned three year old.  He grabbed his magnifying glass (endearingly called his 'microphoning glass) and inspected, discussed and investigated this wasp for about forty minutes.  




But the true moment of education came the other day when Ted asked me to pull down the big tub of coloured blocks to play with.  This was totally random, since I can't even remember the last time the tub was opened, let alone touched or even moved.  The cardboard tub has, accordingly, paled to a lovely shade of sun-bleach, belying the bursts of wooden colour that lie within.  While Ted was busy making a little 'bird feeder', I made a little circle of buildings, as you can see here.

Ted, once he moved on from the feeder, was transfixed by my buildings.  He announced that he wanted to make his own circle of buildings too.



And so he did.  And he completely and utterly put my order and symmetry to shame.  I fell in love with his haphazard constructions that were yet carefully balanced. He attacked his assignment with a grand gusto.  His city of awesomeness was built with an occasional eye cast over my original circle and I realised that I should take note of this lesson - the lesson of the nexus where enthusiasm and imagination and creative passion met.  And after he had made what you see here, he decided to recreate one of my buildings exactly in the centre of his circle.  Slowly, he realised this was quite a delicate feat.  As he moved one of his buildings off to the side, in order to increase his accessibility to the area he wanted, the tall building teetered and fell. He looked over at me, with a wry look in his eye.  And just as I wondered what he could be thinking, he enthusiastically yelled out "Earthquake!" and rumbled that city to the ground.


I need to be more open to these lessons from my crazy boy.  Create with gusto, be in the moment.  And just do it.

3 comments:

Zoe said...

I made a couple of dresses with my 'finders fee' fabric this evening! Am happy I scored something as I went to said store yesterday and you'd CLEANED THEM OUT! Well, not totally as I did find a nice floral piece that I am going to make into a skirt with that pattern of yours.

That bedspread is unreal! x

jay said...

you do have some luck with quilt covers, that ones is AMAZING, go you. Love Ted's fashion, that rope is so effortlessly slung and he looks uber relaxed with it. sweet little one.

casso said...

Zoe - that fabric was so perfect for you. Oops, sorry about the clear out, ha! I only tend to go there every four weeks or so but always find something out the back. Did you notice how they've cleaned it all up? A little bit easier to rummage through the piles now.

Isn't that cover fantastic? I can't wait for it to be on loud and proud display in spring. As for Ted's fashion, this morning I really needed to take a photo of him - purple long sleeve top, purple bug tshirt over the top, orange striped short, blue socks, red sandals, dinosaur belt and white butterfly sunglasses. The boy had every passerby smiling at him. Glorious!