A day in the life of
I wake up. It’s still dark outside (inside?) whatever. I don’t care. I don’t want to wake up right now. I make a noise. I still haven’t figured out the talking thing completely. I can say some things. Not everything. I don’t need to. These guys will figure out.
Anyway, I make a noise. I should have heard something by now. Where are you?
I make another noise.
This time I hear her back.
“Are you up now?”, she says. “Are you hungry?”
She coddles me, puts her breast in mouth. “Here”, she says.
I take it in and start sucking. Milk!
I drink all I can. But it’s hard to keep my eyes open. It’s dark outside (inside?). Whatever. I nod off.
This time when I wake up, there’s light in the room. Not too much, just a little.
I do not see them around here. I call them.
I hear some sounds outside and then my father comes. The first thing he does is puts his hand under my head and brings me close.
I don’t want to sleep anymore. I make it clear.
He cuddles me then, kisses me everywhere.
I don’t like that either. I push him off. He picks me up then, brings me outside. I see my mother in the kitchen. She is doing something. I don’t care. I laugh. She laughs back. I want to go to her. And so I reach out.
Now I’m in her arms. Here it comes! I steel myself.
My mother starts kissing me now. I want some of it. But she does not know when to stop. I push her back. She does not stop. I push her back some more. Finally, she seems to be done.
They put me down on the ground. They put a banana in my hand. I’m hungry anyway. Time to eat!
I have been walking around for quite some time now. I have eaten. I have played with my truck, the little blocks that I love pulling apart, the spoons that I got from the dining table.
Just then, my father comes pick me up. He kisses me again. I mean seriously, how many times do you have to do this!
He takes me to the bathroom and puts me down at the changing station. *I don’t know it’s a changing station, but you need to know, right? wink wink *
He removes my clothes and then my diaper. I pick up the big blue bottle of cream. I uncork the bottle, and throw the bottle away. I am happy. He looks a bit annoyed. But then kisses me again. I mean seriously!
He picks me up, I catch a boy looking back at me through this shiny thing on the wall. I laugh some more, as does he.
Then we move to my favourite part of the morning.
My father puts me down, and while I move around gathering myself, there’s rain! I love this so much. The water feels so good. I don’t like it when it goes in my eyes, so I put my head down, while my father washes my head.
I want to touch the water. I reach out and grab the thing rain comes out of. Yes! Now I can put it on my face. Wait, I don’t like that. A little down then. Yes! Perfect!
I am sitting in my chair now. I have been dressed. I have been tied down. I try to get out of it, but can’t. Some day soon, I will break these shackles and run free!
Just not today, I guess.
Mother is sitting on the floor. She starts ringing the thing in her hand. It’s time. She starts singing, and I start clapping. Why? Well, why not?
We are all here, at the table. They have plates in front of them. They used to feed me, forcefully, not anymore though. I am a big boy now. I can eat by my own. But first, I must see what it is. I must pick the individual piece of grain in front of me, see how it feels in my hand, and then, and only then, will I eat it.
My mother does not believe in my methodological approach though. From time to time, she tricks me. Showing me my glass of water, and then shoving food in my mouth at the end of moment. She is wily, this woman!
Father is about to leave though. He is up and about, moving around, putting his jacket on.
“Bye. Bye”, I say as I wave off to him. He laughs.
“Bye. Bye”, I say again. He picks me up the, kisses me again. And puts me down on the sofa. Time for the outer layer I guess. We are done soon. He picks me up.
“Bye. Bye”, I say again. This time to mother. She is still at the table. But I am getting late. We need to go go go.
Father puts me in the back of the car. We have walked some distance. I was in his arms the whole time. He finds some more restraints and ties me down again. Then he goes and sits in the front. And we start moving. Does he not realise that I can’t see anything from back here. Let me try and scoot, just a little to the right, just a little, yes, now I can see.
We stop moving. Father comes and removes the restraints. I can move again! Yes!
I know what is going to happen now, so I hold on to him, a little more tightly. We walk. Again, he walks, I am in his arms. We go past the door, walk some more. I can see kids all around me. He puts me down on the ground.
I know what happens next. So I get closer to him and grab onto his leg. He is picking out this purple thing that he will put on me soon. I don’t want none of it today. Just, no.
He puts the bib on me. And now we walk. I hold his hand and we walk. I like this.
We reach the mound of sand. I see the other kids around and then I see her.
I cry.
“Huominta Savya” she says.
I cry loudly now.
I’m picked up and put in her lap now. Her hands hold me. I can see my father at a distance. I call out to him again. He turns to go. I cry out to him again. He keeps walking away, stopping once at the door. I cry out, loudly, as loud as I can. He lingers, then walks away.