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This Is a Happy New Year

I realize we are ten days into the new year and I haven't registered something over here. That is a sign. My dedication has distractions...yes, focusing else where just for the time being...the time being the time that you spot in all those gaps above or below. I know I will never forget about this because I have a constant reminder in our child.

It was minus 14 degrees this morning in Bacau while Lingen has somewhere around four above zero. So the young lady is braving a tougher winter than I would ever dream of here. Which scares me because I remember how horrifying that cold is. I hear she has fun with it though, yeah, on the sledge with grandpa or grandma. But yesterday was too cold she had to go by car to the Kindergarten.

I do miss her a lot. I think about her a lot. Talking on the phone or on Skype is never enough. I am not good at those two either. To be with her all the time is better, her right in front of me pulling my hand, making noise, wanting to play and so on. Grandma says she gets sad every after a Skype session.

She heard from Grandma that we are at work. So she knows Daddy is at work, and Mommy as well. But that is just to console her because the truth is only Mommy is at work, and Daddy is trying to learn a new language so he can also go work as well. When she gets bigger we hope to explain to her the reason for leaving her in Bacau. Perhaps she only remembers we are not there when Skype comes on. She is busy with toys, Grandma and Grandpa most of the time.

For now I wish all of us a happy new year :)

RDAH4112: About Day One At Kindergarten

No matter how I try to arc my lips so both ends can point down, like the young lady does when trying to suppress a cry; I can't do it. You need the accompanying emotion of wanting to cry- which Anca had, ( though not sure if she did curve her mouth downwards like the young lady,) but she did say this was a very important and emotional day for our child. Now, that part I knew. It's just that I couldn't cry.  

Yesterday the young lady had a curved mouth when we went to pick her from Kindergarten. She almost cried when she saw us. We could tell she had worked so hard to keep it in. And like I told you, hadn't said a word the whole day. She clung on Mommy, then on Daddy, and she didn't let go till we were home. 

Suddenly she had snapped out of the freeze and I was back going..."don't touch! that's mommy's cream." Of which she had actually managed to dig some by the time I noticed. 

That was our day one at school.

Video

Snowy snowy snowy!

Today Bucharest has the biggest snow since the start of winter. I was looking forward to this! To have a good day for science with the young lady out there, running in the snow and getting wet all over; but that was just me wishing.  We are back home after few minutes of facing the harsh reality.

The lady was good with it until she started running back to me, and hiding her face on my side. I think it was too much for her.  I also wanted to capture her walk in thicker snow. I could not. Flat batteries in the camera. I tried with the phone which also fogged up. We decided we will try another day, with Mummy around.

Salt On The Floor

A small tall table behind our kitchen door has a lower shelve where several items stay put: a small electronic weighing scale (that should weigh ingredients), a sandwich maker (that should make sandwiches but is not now) and ( until yesterday) a plastic vessel full with (rough) salt.

On top of the same table are few things we want to easily access- like her cereals, my spices, Anca's coffee, and sweeteners. The place is full most times mainly because we have the habit of piling items there every time we are in the kitchen.

The young lady picks some of what we pile there for her games. Reaching the top of the table has been hard for a while- but she is making progress upwards. Furthermore, someone is always saying "stop!" before she manages to get anything down.

The lower shelf is easier, though here as well we are always saying "don't touch!" But she has found a way to deal with these don't touch!, don't go!, stop! kinds of orders- she stops when she is done, or she does it so quietly that by the time we turn around, she is done- grabbing a spice, the sweetener or anything else that can fit in her tiny hand.

Then two days ago things went wrong for her. While I was busy washing she did lift the container with (rough) salt, ran with it to the sitting room as it spilled- until the container dropped making part of the floor white. Then I heard a loud shrill from a kid horrified at what she had done. I found her in a corner away from it all. She was scared. She refused to walk on any part of the floor that had salt until I cleaned it.

Sometimes The Young Lady Has Mood Swings...

The young lady is in no mood today. By this I mean she is in another mood- usually the tantrumy kind nowadays. There could be another tooth coming. I am thinking those teeth come with mood altering hormones- but I see runny nose every time one comes out.

We had peace earlier today...she slept the full night, woke up, ate then slept and slept. When she woke up, it was midday- but I think she was just having a quiet time all along. I was not at the laptop so that was even much better for her.

We played long, we ate, we read several times "Sid The Shark" who "had a tooth ache that hurt so much, that he grumbled and groaned to all the fish in the sea"; then she peed several times in the potty...but by the time we got to the poop, I was so tired. This was like thirty minutes ago- so I just let drop it in the diaper. When my Mommy asks about how the poop was, we plan to say it was good- I mean- great! Not hard, not soft... I don't remember the color or size etc, and I threw it away. I will tell her that we ate Cereal and Apple.

I will avoid the part where the young lady almost puked because she was too full of water. I will mention she removed her socks many times and tried to put them back- but I won't say she went to the kitchen on naked feet. Romanian parents don't like this.

 I will mention the part where she refused to play with her toys and only wanted to be carried. Today I grounded her for this- I mean I put her on the bed, placed toys before her and said something like " now play alone!" She pouted but went ahead to play.

One of her toys had stopped working after she knocked it hard on the floor while we were in Bacau. This dead toy was among the the toys I gave her so she plays alone. I don't know what she did- but she made it work. She was so excited. Then she thought she would use this to negotiate herself onto my laps...didn't work...so we went back to the pouting.

She got so upset after few minutes of playing alone that she went into a serious tantrum. It was so serious I almost believed it. I took her to the crib and locked the door. Well, that was a bit hard but she was over it in like a minute. I went to check a while back and found her sleeping- the head towards the door.

Two Years: " you love me 'just humongous' ?"

Two years ago on a Wednesday this date we said " I do " to one another. We had quite a chat about this yesterday in the kitchen...oh yes the days have been fast! We have been cruising like whoosh! My wife has taught me how to say "whoosh!" when talking about something that goes that fast. It feels good doing this.  

I am so married to her or she is so married to me I can't remember that well how it used to be at GreenElement (where I lived as a senior bachelor)...well it was a dusty humble place for cockroaches and me- the proprietor- (she has phobia for cockroaches while I don't) - and that I had those loud phone calls from Adash that were like opium some times (given the stress levels of a Bank-worker). " A man can try..." One night I laughed so hard the neighbor below came over the next morning to say he liked my jolliness...except that I should turn down the volume just a little bit. 

We always had deep talks about almost anything- you know what I mean. Sometimes there was noise and bumpiness but we didn't forget to say "I love you." Usually she would ask "how big?"- meaning the loving- and I would say, "Just humongous," and she would say " oh, you love me 'just humongous' ?" and I would say "Yes, just humongous because just humongous is very biiiiiiig...i mean just humongous."  

I say Happy second anniversary to my wife. I look forward to many more.   

Hairdo By Daddy

bushy hair 

I finally got around making Ramona's hair. I saw Eva's daughter on Facebook looking great with a nice hairstyle I thought I might as well try it- and also several entries on this blog.

It wasn't easy. My hands have never done anyone's hair so you can imagine the clumsiness on the first attempt. I did meet some resistance from the Young Lady especially when I tried passing the comb through her hair. Once in a while I had tried the comb before, then stopped as soon as she protested. I wasn't going to stop this time round. I felt the need for a new look- just a bit.

I figured some of my Ballet Hair Tonic-" perfect for healthy hair growth," would do well on the curly hair- which it did. It felt soft and easy to handle though she still refused the comb.

We had bought tiny elastic bands some time back from the market. I divided up the hair into  bundles- not sure what word to use here- something that would look like hay stacks once I was done. She kept swinging her heard in all directions, protesting and trying to run away- but I kept it going till I was done. Then she went calm, trying to touch the head- it was feeling strange I guess. I loved her new appearance.

I have since made her hair four times. My wife suggested I switch on baby TV while I tie up the hair. She fell asleep last time while I tied up the bundles :).

Should I Drop This Having Started With So Much Enthusiasm?

hiding

Words have disappeared from my database. I don't see them, can't find them, can't sum them up into something coherent when I find them...I was hoping I would come here and write everything I go through, as a father staying at home. But alas! I seem not to :). 

I do nearly the same things every day...well, the routine isn't all that routine. Then in the end I feel no strong strong sense of insight. It must be me. I am not thinking hard. This feels so sticky I won't be able to sustain this blog at this rate. Should I drop this having started with so much enthusiasm?

Memories of Day One With Ramona

We went on a visit last Sunday to Ioana, my wife's cousin who lives at Crangaşi in Sector 6 of Bucharest. Ioana  is married to Mihai, a nice quiet gentleman, now over two years. They have a one month little girl they named Catrinel. 

We found Catrinel with Mommy in her room. She was being rocked gently and she seemed to like it. She had a calm face with little eyes that she kept blinking so beautiful. Babies are irresistible- always adorable with a cuteness that only angels have. Her delicate hands, baby legs had such a tenderness of a flower. I held her close to my chest...oh so precious she felt, a happy baby with bright eyes, perfect lips, healthy cheeks and she liked me. I could tell from her excitement she knew visitors had come. 


That moment reminded me of the day I held Ramona for the first time. It is the day I arrived in Bucharest over a year ago. My wife had waited for me at Otopeni. We straight went to the train station to head for Bacau. I was a bit nervous, but mostly anxious to see my daughter, to hold her for the first time. The journey was long. It was 2 a.m when we got to Bacau. 


I undressed, showered and went to her. The whole commotion had roused her from sleep. Now I know she was tiny. She was curled up in a heavy towel (it was autumn and the cold was starting.) My wife was right next to me whispering "she looks just like you." My heart melted. I felt so good I couldn't believe I had made another human being! I kissed her on the cheeks, put her on the bed and looked at her for a long moment. I was grateful for my daughter. I am still grateful for the gift that she is. That my wife was patient to carry her into this life is such a profound deed that touches my heart. 


There is a saying I saw on a website that goes, " Babies are a great way to start human beings." Yes it is! In those moments my journey into real fatherhood commenced. My daughter was seeing a new face that would become familiar in the days and months that would follow. Our relationship kicked off.