Tryptophantastic

One of the great things about Katya growing older is that her personality is developing, and for better or worse, this includes having decided opinions about what she wants. Recently Katya has demonstrated her preferences on various topics. Here a few of the ones that made me smile and decide for one more day that I could probably handle raising her for just a LITTLE longer.

My grandmother sent some money for Katya’s birthday, and we mentioned to Katya that she should start considering what she would want to buy. Without hesistation she started wiggling her fingers around, “I want a crab!”

And if simple requests don’t work, she’s not above asking other authorities. I was saying a prayer over a meal, “Please bless us that we may be safe today and work together…”

“…and paint lots,” Katya murmers in sotto voice.

She’s already able to hurt my feelings, however, despite the humor of the situation. She’s become obsessed about going to school, and in fact, the other day we even had to “chase” a school bus, with her fully intent on hopping on it. She’s certain her school is off “that way” and she has a teacher waiting for her. And I’m not allowed to be her teacher, or do school things, without much cajoling. It had become an “issue” after the school bus incident, and in the past, tantrums haveccurred.

Finally I used the sympathy ploy. Sadly I asked, “So I can’t be your teacher?”

“You can be my teacher…” she decided.

“I can be your teacher?” Dare I hope?

“…after school.”

Outconned again.

Nothing like someone else’s embarassment to make a blah day feel a tiny bit better.

Banana splits will be served, but feel free to bring something to share with everyone. Small babies are welcome.

Better nix that from the church newsletter I’m typing up…

Ushiro kubishime: rear chokehold, one hand on wrist, the other potentially cutting off air supply across the throat.

In teaching techniques focusing on ushiro kubishime today, King-Sensei related a story of a female fellow aikidoka who lived in a dangerous area of town took a lengthy well-lit route to and from class. She eventually decided to take a rape prevention class and armed with her new techniques, demonstrated a response to a chokehold in aikido class. Her sensei in response (and with her permission) performed a chokehold on her, and did so for 10 minutes while she tried unsuccessfully to escape, and when released was so shaken she had to leave class. What shook her was the complete feeling of helplessness and one-sided struggle.

I had heard a similar story in a previous aikido lifetime, and have been thinking along a similar vein because of an upcoming “rape prevention” class my church is holding. So as King-Sensei introduced the technique tonight I was nodding inwardly. I’ve always felt that at the very least I have good instincts: I catch my kids one-armed as they fall off furniture, sometimes only seeing them with bare peripheral vision. And even more so, in an attack I would have the gut physical reaction that only being a pompous self-righteous intellectual can give you. What, you want to hurt me, punk?

Punk or not, we have a kid in our class who often gets a little excited about being the uke, or attacker role. Twice he put a chokehold on me a little stronger than I expected. The first time I felt a slight loss of wind, but continued with the attack. The second time he used both arms, instead of one as we were practicing, and squeezed. To my credit, I wasn’t nervous, but I did react with a lot of frustration and annoyance and failed to do anything to resolve the situation without struggling.

When you search for harmony in how you act, either annoyance or fear bring you to the same end.

The first “answer” to this problem is that you must train your body so much that it always reacts without you having to think (and overthink) the situation, much like me being so used to my kids falling off the couch that I watch them even when I don’t know that I’m watching. This perhaps is the military approach. King-Sensei’s followup to his story essentially said that despite your circumstances you must relax and let your body flow from one point without struggle.

Must relax. It’s almost a contradiction, but something to keep telling myself as I so often encounter my aforementioned self-righteous rage. What good does it to me to be right if I can’t be happy?

I tell a few of you some amusing Katya/Emma anecdotes and suddenly everyone’s all over me. You all want a piece of their cutieness, and you want to make me into something I’m not: primarily a monkey who sits around to blog the latest in cute stories, and well, you’re just using me and you’re trying to keep me from real blog fandom as a political pundit, but that’s ok, I never wanted that either. So without further ado, some mindless gratification for all of you.

Quotable Katya:

While riding in the car and discussing something entirely different: “I don’t want to have to be a boy.”

Runs into computer room yelling, “My dog is poopy!” I pause, follow her curiously and find her dog backpack lying on the diaper changing mat. Grabbing the dog she exclaims “No butt!” (well, I could’ve told you that…)

Katya: “Knock knock.”
Us: “Who’s there?”
K: “Orange.”
U: “Orange who?”
K: “You don’t have to cry about it!”

Repeatedly, to Emma: “You’re the best baby I know!” (aww)

So to the loveliest 3-year old I know, Happy Birthday and thank you for sharing my life!