(self-portrait with new head-kerchief)things have been rather sad and subdued around here this week since we heard that my grand-father has suddenly been taken ill, which at the age of 90 is no good news (although knowing my grand-father, he might surprise us and go on to live for another 30 years). we immediately started organizing ourselves (passports/visums/etc.) and we are leaving on the 21st.
since hearing the news, i've been phoning him every day, but he tires easily, and i realize in only have about 5 minutes a day. for a story. so i collect for him little nuggets from our life, i embellish them just a little (the way one sometimes adds a few drops of balsamic vinegar to a bowl of fresh strawberries), and i hope he will laugh.
(yesterday's nugget involved hand-made head-kerchiefs, today's was all about isabelle walking around the house with her hand-held microscope discovering the wonders of the micro-world)
since hearing the news, i've been phoning him every day, but he tires easily, and i realize in only have about 5 minutes a day. for a story. so i collect for him little nuggets from our life, i embellish them just a little (the way one sometimes adds a few drops of balsamic vinegar to a bowl of fresh strawberries), and i hope he will laugh.
(yesterday's nugget involved hand-made head-kerchiefs, today's was all about isabelle walking around the house with her hand-held microscope discovering the wonders of the micro-world)
this morning i was standing in the kitchen and it struck me that almost 30 years ago, my grand-father was the one who had 5 minutes a day. as a child, i used to stay with my grand-parents in moscow and the days were filled with rituals, one of which was the bedtime stories my grand-father told me every night. these were tales of his childhood in ukraine, some funny, some sad, some wild and scary, all of them, i found out quite recently, fictional. they have formed me, stayed with me, and i can still remember most of them. in 5 minutes a day, he created a world for me.
now the roles are reversed as i try to create a world for him, entertaining him with stories of my children's childhood.
tonight, as we lay in bed, all four of us under the big white mosquito net, marc was reading from Het Sleutelkruid and it suddenly dawned on me that for weeks now, we have been listening every night to the story of a very old dying king whose life is being stretched out, one day at a time, through the stories that the animals of his kingdom come to tell him.
tonight, as we lay in bed, all four of us under the big white mosquito net, marc was reading from Het Sleutelkruid and it suddenly dawned on me that for weeks now, we have been listening every night to the story of a very old dying king whose life is being stretched out, one day at a time, through the stories that the animals of his kingdom come to tell him.
it will be many many nights before we know how the story ends.
1 comment:
Oh sweetie...tell me if I can do anything. And you know, it is not about the last couple of weeks, it is about a life time of love between you, it is about his blood running through your vains...Marjo
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