FOR JACKSON

“Ya’ll take the tube down to see us!”

I find wherever we live, I collect words (along with various and assundry treasures) I want to pluck from the locale and pack away for later and repeated use. So that after a while, our household goods, as well as our vocabulary, spill out with a virtual cornucopia of odds and ends, which make up our home, as well as our “homespeak.”

To this day, we use the term “bin,” instead of trashcan. My children ask for the toilet, not the bathroom, and I take the tube no matter what city in which I travel. Why? I just like those words better. They seem to fit, or they are simply more fun to say than the alternative. Language travels light and words envelope memories that last forever. I’m sure my children are asked why they use certain words. Hopefully they have a story to tell about where they’ve been, and the many places they’ve seen. They might not remember every detail, but they are cognizant of time spent elsewhere.

A friend of mine who recently moved to Turkey with her husband sent an email the other day with a picture of her son being dressed by a woman I didn't recognize. She said the woman in the photo approached her on the playground to fix her son's clothing, as the Turkish are very particular about bundling up their babies. She said it was sunny and warm that day, and her child already had several layers of clothing too many by our American standards, but this apparently did not suffice. This is just one of the many amazing photos my friend has shared with us since arriving a month or so, ago. Most of the photos have her son in the foreground of an amazing sight. Those photos will help him remember when he's older, and the stories behind the pictures will prevail.

My children travel well. They step up to the challenge of spending two days in a car or 12 hours on an airplane with pep in their step. They listen. They get along. They behave. Travel is almost a magical elixir for our family. When we yearn for quality togetherness, sometimes we simply go for a drive, or out to dinner. The adventure doesn’t have to be a long one — just the sense of something out of the ordinary trips that wire.

I hope that when our children are grown, they will view their odd collection of words as evidence of a life spent with open hearts and open minds. While Daddy is off trying to help make the world a better/safer place, we are here making our place in the world better, and recognizing there all kinds of ways to speak, and dress, and do. The possibilities are endless.