"Two things pierce the human heart,"
wrote Simone Weil. "Beauty and affliction."
It's always interesting to hear a quote that captures the essence of a notion we thought no one else could comprehend.
After picking up the Bug yesterday morning, he said (as I drove away), "I want you to be a dada and come inside momma's house."
Interesting how he objectified me with the phrase "a dada," (which he has never done before) as if he were somehow searching for a way to get me inside, or had learned to associated the idea of "a dada" with someone who "comes inside momma's house." (not a normal practice for me)
Talk about heart-wrenching. Like a conversely beautiful experience last month, his words went deep .. piercing just as I lowered my defenses.
Can't blame the little guy for wanting to spend time with both of the people who made him. My rock-climbing buddy, Tom, has a 7-year old daughter. He warned me these days would come, and described the (heart-wrenching) challenges they'd bring.
"Do you want me,"
I asked (trying to figure out where he was coming from), "to come inside and visit with you? Or with you AND momma?"
"With me *and* momma,"
he answered.
I normally stop by the library the day before I get the Bug. There I usually pick up a few new books, which I read to him throughout the week.
Occasionally I come across one showing pictures of children (or baby animals) lovingly surrounded by *both* parents. These I automatically reject (censor), cuz that's not his reality. And I don't want him to feel .. well, you know what I'm saying.
