I really should be getting ready for the dinner party we’re going to tonight, since I need to do something about my beached-out hair, and throw on a little make up for the first time in days. But I’ll first quickly tell you about today, since I know a few of you can’t sleep without my nightly bedtime stories about dreamy island life J
Today the kids did a very brief bit of school – William breezed through his kindergarten stuff (I love his enthusiasm, he’s still young enough to think school rocks!) and Jackie did some writing, then we played Life (the board game). It was definitely a good hour of homeschooling, as they learned the following: why college graduates usually make more money, why health insurance is very important, why I simply cannot sue either of my kids for $100,000 even though the game requires it; they learned about karma, about how sometimes it pays to take risks, and that they need to pay their parents $10,000 apiece when the parents retire.
Done with that, we headed out to the Museum Fort Count Mirasol. We had gone there last year and I remembered it was not only a fascinating place in terms of history and culture, but it was also a very photogenic structure and small enough that the kids wouldn’t even have time to utter “I’M BORED.” This was the last fort to be built by the Spaniards in the Americas, and at one point also served as a prison. It was closed for a few years and then after 2 years of intensive restoration work, opened in 1991 as the museum it is today.
Our friends Rona & Bronwen met us there with their young ones. The hour or so we spent there was a delightful mix of photo shoot and historical and cultural discovery. Jackie as usual was thrilled to nurture the little ones, and Willo and Alejandro (“Jano”) hung out, being the Two Boys With Long Curly Hair. Willo was very excited to see the Taíno relics we had talked about in homeschooling, which had been excavated from various sites on Vieques, including where the W now stands. There were also a few art exhibits: Yasmin Hernández had a big exhibit called “Tierra de Valientes” which honored the valor of several Puerto Ricans who have fought injustice, or who have simply been brave in the face of life’s daily challenges. The kids wondered what the display of contaminants was about (see picture) so I briefly explained about the Navy occupation and the bombing, reminding them of the bunkers we’ve visited and the shell casings we found there. I told them that the military activity meant a lot of poison was released into the environment, and the bags of leaves we were looking at were a display about that. The other two artists were less political; Dee Wagner Kennedy had really pretty paintings, scenes around Vieques, while Lulu Atkin had mostly sculptures. Some of them were of cement and sea shells and sea glass, very cool – and when we got home I emailed her to see if perhaps the kids and I can have a lesson with her (haven’t heard back).
After the fort the kids and I tackled the grocery store, where I actually found a cheese grater (it’s all plastic, so not sure if it works) and we stocked up on chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter. The kids really wanted to make their special dessert for tonight’s party. Rona and baby Dagan came over, and after giving them a little tour of our magnificent quarters, we walked down to the beach.
Rona and I talked about the challenges of motherhood. This week I’ve spent a fair amount of time with her and Bronwen, both mothers of very young children, and I can only feel empathy and compassion for them, and relief that my own kids are now so independent. I am not a baby-lover; while I love photographing them and spending some time with them, the whole infancy and toddler stages are extremely annoying to me. Watching Rona and Bronwen handle babies who crave their mothers’ arms, diapers that need changing, crawlers who eat sand, naptimes, fragmented conversations, diaper bags… Brings back memories of my own frustrations when the kids were younger and the whole motherhood gig created enormous friction between the Nurturing Me and the Selfish Me. Sure, after 3 miscarriages I was obviously grateful to have these 2 wonderful gifts, but I also resented being completely at the mercy of two beings who owned my heart, my body and my schedule. I am truly thankful that this opportunity we have right now to be in Vieques, has occurred now and not when the children were younger, for it would have been a very different experience for us.
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