It’s a hot summer day, we’ve been playing outside in the water, my night-shirt wet from sitting on the ground. Fiona has gone into the house, is standing on a chair pushing the button that turns on our speakers, but the music’s not on. She’s singing really loud and moving her shoulders and arms. I walk in the house, take off my top, and turn on some music, I flip through a few stations and when I get to teen beats both babies ears stand to attention. Fiona doesn’t have her hearing aids on, I turn the music up loud. The doors are open, they are filming a Netflix movie down at the park, I wonder if they can hear us. We all start dancing, Jack and Fiona run out onto the deck and back in again, I’m tempted, but I would be seen for sure, not that I really care. After the first song is over Jack says “More”. We listen to three more songs dancing away, arms, legs, bodies flowing with the beat, the Teen beat. The music’s not bad for this sort of thing. I’m enjoying this, my naked body four decades old dancing with babies, boobs bouncing, I catch a glimpse of my reflection on the glass door. My body looks pretty good, I watch myself dance, I started watching myself dance in Elementary school. I would pretend I was sick, stay home from school. After my mom and brother were gone I’d dress up and dance. I don’t know where I got the idea, but I loved doing it. In my twenties I went out dancing every chance I got, especially to REGGAE. I loved dancing, since getting married I haven’t gone to see music and dance very much. There’s been family parties where everyone started dancing, my body wouldn’t dance, it’s as if the dance was buried, like the words sometimes, or the creativity. A self-consciousness takes over. But as I’m dancing naked, my oldish body, bouncing boobs, in front of my two-and-a-half-year-old twins, as they dance naked with me I feel a freedom that I haven’t felt in a long time. I almost danced naked out on my deck, I can hear the neighbors now, “Mommy they’re naked” I heard this the other day as some neighbors walked by and Jack leaned up against the railing naked, pushed his body up against the railing as if he was showing them his willy or going to pee on them. I was laughing so hard, I guess I wanted to do the same thing today, then I thought what if we all just walked down to where they’re filming, naked, with shoes on only and hats. We’ll just sit and watch with the other neighbors like nothing is unusual. Tempting. I realized last night at dinner, having so much fun with my sister in law, great conversations, then seeing an artist friend I haven’t seen in forever, who I look up to, love her work, she tells me she was a teacher for seven years and it was the best, she loved it. If you can help one person, if you can make a difference in one person’s life, that is the theme. What I realized was we may not be able to change anything, the people with the guns and the anger and the hate will always win over peaceful people. I used to get mad when I saw people posting on Facebook to pray for Paris or pray for Orlando or Sandy Hook, or the Refugees from Syria, or the kids being shot in gang crossfire, praying won’t do anything I said. But now I get it, all we can do is pray. We can try to change laws and make the world a better place, but it seems like there’s fifty percent of any given population that wants guns, or are racist against this group or that, that aren’t peaceful people. I can’t change them. I can only be myself, I can only help myself, and maybe a few more along the way. I want to go to Pride today and dance naked in the streets of San Francisco.
Tag: babies
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I hate weed blowers. It’s 2:00PM Friday afternoon. The house is so quiet and peaceful; I keep saying to myself “PLEASE WEEDBLOWER GUY FINISH FAST!” The babies are down for their nap, I have hummus and chips and a glass of chardonnay sitting on the table beside me. Oh Finally, the weed blower stopped. Quiet again. Beautifully quiet. Ecstatically quiet. Paralyzing quiet. The icing on the cake is the kitchens clean, the toys are picked up, the carpets vacuumed, I even gave Billy a bath and organized the babies book baskets. Some of these things were possible because Linda did a home visit today! She knows how to keep the babies from destroying all my hard work! She knows how to “Manage” them, which is invaluable information for me. Jack and Fiona respect Linda. I practiced “Three Little Monkeys” In sign language with Linda (we do three monkeys instead of five I think to shorten it) Jack and Fiona’s eyes were glued to us, which was interesting because I’ve been practicing and they don’t watch me like that. Maybe because I’m always practicing my sign language, they are probably bored of me fumbling around with my hands, checking my notes.
Earlier, as I sat on the couch I thought to myself, “This is really happening.” I was looking at the clear Tupperware box full of colorful blocks on the fire place mantle. I’m now a person with plastic toys and mickey mouse diapers and organic juice boxes and a white minivan. I’m a mom. When I tell the babies “my name is Jenny, but I’m your mommy” I love how they say “Jenny.” Alan was around one time when Jack called “Jenny” and Alan said, “No, that’s mommy” I said “It’s OK, I told them my name was Jenny but I’m their Mommy and they can call me Jenny and Mommy” Alan didn’t like that, he said they should only call me Mommy. I think it bugs him when kids call their parents by their first names. I feel it is important they know my name is Jenny and that I’m a painter and a writer and a feminist. It’s my identity, and since our whole lives are based on building and maintaining our identity I feel it’s appropriate. They know their names are Jack and Fiona and are learning who they are. Sometimes I forget they’re only two years old, I feel I know them, I feel they know so much. Then I catch myself and say to myself, “They don’t understand a thing you just said.” Then I go back to rolling the play dough out in a flat piece or making a ball. I showed them a comedy clip of Trump and Sanders impersonators, it was so funny, I was laughing so hard, I told the babies those guys are impersonating two guys that are running for president. I told them Trump was a bad guy. I know they didn’t understand it. Linda said it’s good that I explain everything to them though.
The babies will be waking up soon. I feel like taking a bath now but I don’t know if I have time. I also need to make snack and think about dinner. I wish there was more time left to chill. More quiet time. It sounds so good right now. So good.
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I grab the two zip lock baggies out of the fridge, one marked “Fiona” one marked “Jack”, walk over to the trash can cringing, “I’m sorry, I feel bad” I say to myself. I toss the bags with half eaten chocolate bunnies in the trash. I shove them down below the empty boxes of Chinese food, pieces of strawberries, used tea bags, and slimy yogurt. I don’t want Jack or Fiona to see that I’ve thrown away the rest of their candy from yesterday, the candy that is rightfully theirs to enjoy to the last bite. But as I watched my children eat candy all weekend and the grand finale last night, an ice cream cone before bed, I said “Starting tomorrow, NO MORE CANDY!” (My husband and I included) “Except on Sundays”. I knew my indoctrination of Easter had gone too far, when yesterday, as Jack opened his golden wrapped bunny with a little red bow around its neck, revealing not a toy bunny, but an edible chocolate creature, Jack gasped, then said, “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” and bit off its little head, chocolate smeared all over his face and hands. Definitely making it on Jacks top ten moments of his first two years of life.

On Saturday, every time I mentioned that “The Easter Bunny is Coming Tonight” Jack would say, “Scary???” and I laughed. The Bunny costume at the park that morning was REALLY scary!! But on Sunday morning when they woke up to stuffed bunnies and chocolate candies I think the memory of Easter will be a good one, not a scary one. I don’t know why I love Easter so much, my mom always did the Easter Baskets, maybe that’s why? I love little animals and chocolate too! And now so do my children. I know it’s probably sacrilegious the way I carried on about Easter, not a mention of Jesus, Good Friday, or Purim. And now I’ve taught my son to say “Oh My God”, not on purpose, I’ve been trying to insert Gosh instead of God, but I guess I’m not consistent enough. Like they say “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”