How in the galaxy…

…did this happen?  Anjali has transformed herself into a Jedi and everything Star Wars.  We have to sit though long monologues (in the car, at restaurants, at bath time) about everything Star Wars related from Galactic politics, clone lineage to entire lines from the movies.  Recently she finished reading George Lucas’ entire screen play of the prequel trilogy.  At night she goes to bed announcing that she is off to the Jedi Temple (for her training, of course).  I enjoyed Star Wars as a kid and return of the Jedi was the first movie I saw with my beloved uncle at the Liberty cinema in Colombo.  I had a picture book on Star Wars, of which the center fold of Han Solo hung on the inside of my closet door.

It’s mostly boys who are into Star Wars, but the original story (as opposed to the clone wars story line) has kindled interest among girls her age, who are much more versed on the trivia than the boys.  It’s also a reminder that in our current age of ‘got it all right now’ kids are turning to a cultural phenomenon that is 20 years old, adding to the claim that lately, we are not so original in our creativity.   The family has been watching the prequel trilogy on DVD and Ranjeewa and I turn our heads and smile at each other often over Anjali’s head.  It is amusing to see a child being transfixed (albeit probably temporary like other passing phenomena such as the nutcracker, wizard of oz, and, little house on the prairie).  Shhhh... This awesome personalized find will be making a surprise on her birthday!

A child's imagination

Imagination is another wonder of childhood. As adults we know there is never enough time to indulge in this amazing gift we all have. But children inherently have plenty of this, and are gratified by their own make-believe activities than by the adult-made fantasies they are offered on the ever increasing list of 'plug-in' culprits.

The mini city that has taken over our living room is an example of this creativity. It all started with a child's-best-toy, a box. Then, three characters made a staggered appearance. First came 'bunny-bun' (a small plastic bunny we found buried in the mulch at the park), then came 'ducky-duck' (a tiny rubber ducky I got on a Virgin Atlantic flight) and 'horsy-horse' (a reward for walking to school). The city grew with the help of man's waste mostly cardboard and paper to include a mall with a pencil shavings pool, an emergency shelter (also with a pool), many toilets, and a park. I have been amazed by the amount of creativity and playtime it has generated.

So once again I sit back and marvel at her inner resource. And hope that it will always be her rock. Needless to say, I want to reclaim the living room, so we have had conversations about moving the city out-doors for the spring and summer.

Future President?

I hope she never loses her confidence. I was surprised to see that she put herself in a pantsuit. Even she thinks a woman can't govern in a dress!

Missed opportunities

As a parent there are many things that you never get around to. For me, one was making a baby book. I still have her foot prints from the hospital and my own thoughts on being pregnant, loosely lying in manila folders. Another was to sew play food like this. Now Anjali is barely interested in playing in her kitchen.

Tonight she was writing about slavery in her journal. She asked me why slaves didn't know their birthdays; And I didn't know the answer (we googled it).

How do they grow up so fast and where does the time go?

Read-o-rama

A miracle of childhood is how kids learn to read seemingly overnight. Anjali started kindergarden reading words such as ‘cat’ ‘hat’ and ‘pot’. By the end of the school year she is reading at the 3^rd grade level. I always wondered how the letters transform in their brains and make the sounds. Its still an amazing mystery to me. The books that have taken us by storm are the Mary Pope Osbornes’ “Magic Tree House” mystery series. These are delightful in their weave of mystery, fact, and fiction. She is on book 31 of the series! She reads so much that we’ve had to set limits. (Here she is reading while we are having a picnic).

I love to read out loud and a little sad that I dont get to do it as much now. Our present designated read-together book is the original Charlotte’s web. What a masterpiece!

Hiking

I love to hike (or even walk). And this photo of Anjali and me captures why.
When I was pregnant with Anjali I made a vow to myself to show her the beauty of the world as I see it (before she realized that it is not all so). Its a simple concept that your feet can take you to extraordinary places. And when you are in that place everything you know looks different, better. And you realize you are part of something much bigger. And its no small feat that she climbed 1200 feet in almost 4 miles!

On becoming a ballerina

Anjali debuted her solo ballet performance at the school talent show. As parents we were blown away by her grace and confidence on stage and leading up to the performance. She put a lot of thought into her routine and her personality was not lost on her choreography notes where she made notes in two columns, left in green (things a ballerina should do) and the right in red (the things she must not). We loved it!
She also got tons of praise from the older kids (huge deal), the principal, and her class teacher. I am so grateful that her (public) school provides kids this opportunity. This is a picture from her classmate.