This photo has nothing to do with the post, but I thought it was funny. This is from the back of my grandma's piano. The piano was moved away from the wall since the living room is going to be painted. I'm relived to know that the piano is built using tested scientific principles.
When I walk into my brother's house, Ji rushes off to his bedroom. (Ji is my 19 month old nephew.) I follow him to see what he is up to. "Zooj," he says, holding out three shoes that he has grabbed from his dresser. In his other hand is his black knit hat with the cat ears and face. The eyes glow in the dark. "Zooj. Go," he says again as he makes a knocking motion in the air with his fist. Ji knows that I am a pushover, and will take him outside if he asks. So I find some socks to go with his shoes & put them on him. I pull his hat on (he is the only kid I know who loves to wear hats.) and find a jacket. He insists that I zip the jacket up. Then we go back into the livingroom and he runs to grab my shoes and bring them to me so I can put them on. As I open the front door, he triumphantly blows two kisses to his mother & out we go.
Ji likes dogs. He's a little nervous if they get close to him, but he loves to watch them. I've seen him stand outside the neighbor's door run and not even flinch while they bark. To him, that's just the sound that dogs make. Today Princess, the upstairs neighbor's, dog is out. She's a small dog, only coming up to Ji's waist. But he still likes a little distance. We walk over to the fence, where the next door neighbor's brown lab is. Sometimes she will push her tennis ball under the fence where there's a space, and I'll throw it for her to chase. Ji says, "ball," but I see that the tennis ball is split open and the felt is torn off. Princess has followed us to the fence, though, and even though she's tiny she growls at the other dog. Then they race along the fence barking at each other. They race back and forth, never seeming to tire. We watch for a few minutes, then Ji waves good-bye and we wander to the gate, which he shakes back and forth until I unlatch it and we go out.
We walk a little, and he points out the pink blossoms that have fallen from a tree to the ground. I hold him up so he can smell the blossoms, and we are showered in pink petals. Some dogs across the street are barking, and Ji points in their direction and says "dog." "Yes, there are dogs there," I say, hoping that acknowledgement is enough. But he persists. "Dog. dog." I pick him up and we cross the street.
There are 3 dogs fenced in the backyard, next to the gravel driveway. I crunch across the gravel and set him down a couple feet in front of the fence. Two of the dogs are the small fluffy type, and aren't barking. The third is a fat beagle, and she barks and barks at us. I crouch down and put my arms loosely around Ji. He doesn't seem very concerned. He is mesmerized by the dogs, pointing to one of the fluffy ones, who is off a bit from the other two, to draw my attention to it. The other fluffy dog is right next to the fence, and seems politely interested in us. The beagle still seems to think we are a threat. She stops barking, but starts up again in a minute. I see two tennis balls wedged under a shed near the fence. I reach in to see if I can dislodge one, but they are well stuck. The fluffy dog sniffs me appreciatively, but the beagle also moves closer. Ji steps closer to the fence, picking his feet up alternately to crunch in the gravel. He seems to luxuriate in the newness of the sensation. This is one of the things I love about spending time with him--getting glimpses of the world as new and fresh, sharing his wonder at the ordinary & often overlooked. He reaches out to place a hand on the fence. I am worried that the beagle will try to bite him, but she doesn't. We stand there for several more minutes. The wonder has worn off for me, but Ji is still entranced. "Say good-bye to the dogs," I tell him. He waves obediently, and I pick him up and turn to walk away. He points over my shoulder. He wants to go back. So we do.
We try this a couple more times, with the same results. Finally, I distract him by mentioning cars, another one of his interests. "Vroom, vroom." I whisk him back into the house. I sit down on the couch, with Ji on my lap facing me. He grabs onto my shirt with both hand and tries to pull me up. I may have had my fill of dog watching, but he has not!
Stayed tuned to find out what crafty project Mr. O & I are up to:
I started this post a long time ago, but never published it. So here it is now! 
