Friday, March 11, 2005
I like this picture because it makes me look like a demented choir director.
And I like this picture because it makes Fadhlon look like a happy seal.
Words of wisdom from Fadhlon to Isha.
Mohammed, Hassan and Safia's younger two. Notice that we continue to push the Fruit Agenda, hard. I don't know if in the end our fruit-eating efforts had any effect. I hope so. In retrospect (and now that I buy my own groceries) I wish we could have pushed vegetables harder, since they tend to be cheaper.
I find children amusing.
A quiet moment.
Can we do two at once?
Yes, we can.
So... the few pictures I shall post of the Swinging don't really do justice to the EXTREME popularity of this game. These pics are the best in my opinion, because you get a glimpse of the kids WAITING IN LINE to be picked up and flung through the air.
Notice here that we didn't actually "fling" so much as "lower gently."
Sakinah & the sisters
A slightly safer swingset. The boy on the far right is another random playground pal, drawn by the excitement (and snacks, and cool rubber balls, and former gymastics coach) of our party.
Our little loner. This boy, whose name I also can't remember, came over to us while we were in the park and latched on to us. I am not sure where he was from - he spoke a lot more English than 'our' kids, but it clearly wasn't his first language.
He was different in a lot of ways than our kids - I guess in short, he was not a happy child. It's funny that I would say that, I guess; Khadija and Safia's kids' lives look pretty hard to me, and if they were depressed and angry I'd find it understandable. Ali especially has it hard, and Isha walks around with a deep sadness that I think you can see in some of these pictures. And yet... as Grace and I kept noticing, the kids love each other SO MUCH and are so loved by those around them. On this park day we noticed how well-behaved they were -- I don't mean in a stupid, children-should-be-seen-and-not-heard way either. Sure, they were kids - they got a little rowdy, they didn't always play by the rules (or understand them) - but they were good at Playground Etiquette 101: sharing. Being careful not to hurt themselves or others, and listening to suggestions like "don't climb on top of the...". Waiting their turn.
From our visits at home I'd established a mental ranking of relative squirrelness. I'd pegged Hassan as the hardest to handle; Mohammed had a teasing side, and Noor was quite high-energy (but then, he's young yet). But when I watched the kids interact with Loner, I realized again what a great job Khadija and her support network have done with ALL these kids. Loner must not have been so lucky - he was always restless and always trying to stir up trouble.
The balls we brought were quite popular (Hassan is waiting for the one he's tossed into the sky to drop, if that's not clear)
Especially with this little one whose name I forget :(
Note the tired faces of everyone but Strat, who though tired is in Positive Role Model mode. :)
Strat on the right looking very big-brotheresque. Although not as much as the actual big brothers of course.
Sakinah, Ali, and Ali's friend (plus all the rest of the babies...)
A proud banana salute
And this, my friends, is why this summer was the Best Summer Ever.
