Saturday, November 9, 2013

"In Our Sleep"



Spending an afternoon in a gently lit room full of babies once a week is a revelation to me. There are no computers or cell phones in this room.  The youngest babies don't yet crawl. The oldest is close to a year old and seems to be the tiniest of all.  The babies say so much without speaking words.  They are especially focused when they hear the sound of a little bell that hangs from the light fixture in the middle of the peaceful room.  They laugh and they cry.  They sleep.  They play with the toys.  They look deeply at everything.  They look outside at the wind and rain and trees and grass and leaves and the fence and the cars up on the road, and sometimes they see children a little older than they are who can walk and play outside, bundled in hats and coats and boots. The older ones sometimes wave to the babies. The babies drink from bottles or baby cups and some of them eat solid food.  They have their diapers changed.  Some of them stand up.  Some of them crawl.  They all sit up straight the way babies do. They are curious.  I'm impressed by the early childhood teachers.  They are loving, attentive and knowledgeable about babies.  I have a lot to learn from them.  All of them sing beautifully while rocking the babies to sleep.  The babies appear to feel safe and secure, and then they glow when their families arrive to take them home.

5 comments:

The Solitary Walker said...

A great video, and a lovely piece of writing, Am.

Goat said...

A really nice paragraph, Am. Hey, I just sent a couple of links to Dominic Rivron via the comments on my blog. If you haven't seen these pieces yet, they're both really worth it.

This is Lou's last interview a month before his death. He's tired and obviously not well, but so serious and quietly impassioned about his art and the importance of sound:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/11/08/lou_reed_final_interview_in_last_recorded_sit_down_posted_by_rolling_stone.html

And Laurie Anderson's lovely piece about him and their relationship:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/laurie-andersons-farewell-to-lou-reed-a-rolling-stone-exclusive-20131106

am said...

Thank you, Solitary Walker and Goat!

Goat -- Thanks so much for the inspiring and heartening links. Hearing Lou Reed speak about sound and reading Laurie Anderson's words about Lou Reed and their relationship is illuminating.

"Sound is like light .. the sound of love."

"And death? I believe that the purpose of death is the release of love.

At the moment, I have only the greatest happiness and I am so proud of the way he lived and died, of his incredible power and grace.

I'm sure he will come to me in my dreams and will seem to be alive again. And I am suddenly standing here by myself stunned and grateful. How strange, exciting and miraculous that we can change each other so much, love each other so much through our words and music and our real lives."

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post, am.

am said...

Thank you, robin andrea!