Now that Claude is one, he is very alive and resisting sleep. He’s more alert, more easily bored, more curious, more ambulatory, more gregarious, more possessive of Talia, more expressive and interactive. He likes games where you hand an object back and forth; he likes to invent new sounds to express delight. Today he woke up at 2am and I never really got back to sleep. The parent’s body can be a great mystery, with huge reserves of energy and despair.
The next night, Claude woke up before dawn so I took him out to see stars. The North Star was hidden behind a tree, but Orion was as bright as a whistle. We saw two meteors and heard two roosters. The morning star rose slowly; the stars dimmed and vanished; and a wide blue light turned to dawn, with low clouds stark against the sky. Claude was very quiet outside, seeming to contemplate the lights and the darkness. It’s easier to teach kids the meaning of language than the meaning of silence.