Songs From The Wood

The laugh’s on me, I suppose. I had hoped that with the portability of the iPhone, I’d be writing more and more spontaneously. Forget women, my frequent, witty musings would garner a huge readership. Alas! Courting creativity, I ended up courting RSI.  One entry and my right arm is in pain, from the shoulder to the elbow and my pointer finger. And Shanthala is mad at my love affair with this gadget. After all the superior airs and snickering at people with heads perpetually bowed at the altar of little bright screens, you’ve turned into one of them, she said. And the pain in my arm is punishment for all that snickering, I suppose.

But one thing she can’t argue about. The phone is a really effective, compact camera. With it, I’ve been able to capture Maya in so many different settings that I had not been able to before. The phone is always with me, making photography a snap decision, no planning required.

So, for what will probably be my last posting from the iPhone, here is a gallery of pictures of Maya in different settings.

Maya In The Park

Maya loves to climb. Even as young as 20 months, she was attempting structures that parents of much older kids shied away from. And with time she’s only gotten more proficient, attempting stunts such as kissing Shanthala through the bars as she climbs up.

Up, Up, Up

Up Another Difficult Structure

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!                                        – The Swing, Robert Louis Stevenson

Maya couldn’t agree with Stevenson more. Her second favorite activity in the park is to swing. She’s just past two and she already swings by herself, I only have to seat her.

Maya also loves seesaws of all kinds, going up and down with kids older than her. She pumps her legs powerfully, surprising us with how much movement she can get out of the thing, even with older kids on the other side.

Standup SeeSaw

Maya Elsewhere

Besides the park, I’ve been able to capture Maya in other places such as twirling to music at the farmers’ market or listening intently to a concert by a popular local band at a cafe.

Listening to Houston Jones

And the piece d’resistance is this picture of Maya attempting to skateboard.

Skateboarding

And so I must rest my weary arm, with fewer words than before and the hope that these pictures spoke far more eloquently than I could.