Lessons from a two year old
As Michal and I are each engrossed into private electronic worlds (he is studying, I am sculpting memories), I can hear Joshua's high-pitched vocal gymnastics reverberate through our cozy apartment. He is upstairs, yet his voice penetrates the crustiest layers of concrete, and his laughter carries a contagious joy. At two, his world is filled with laughter. As Silvana and I at times converse on highly sophisticated topics, certain words will trigger torrents of laughter from his small frame. I remember how we would tell him about the Christmas tree, during the Christmas month, and his tiny body would shake with laughter. We would repeat the words-Christmas tree- and the same waterfall of sound. Certain gestures, so commonplace to us, respectable adults, would bring about the same expression of unrestrained joy. Then there are the serious moments when Joshua is supposed to appreciate the gravity of his discipline with an equaly grave expression of remorse; conversely, a gigant...