I’ve never been a big maker of resolutions, and this year is no different. In fact, I hadn’t thought about any resolutions at all until I set off to write this post. Bah. Who needs ’em? Just one more thing to worry about not getting done.
The new year arrived totally unnoticed by Ava. She was too excited to have all her relatives gathered around to consider what it means for one year to end and the next to begin (though she does seem to understand that her birthday — all birthdays — are milestones).
We went to the coffee shop yesterday morning with Leah’s family. As we sat there discussing possible trips in the new year, I looked up to see we were seated two tables away from Marvin Bell. He was sitting by himself at a small table, on top of which sat his Apple Powerbook. He had headphones plugged into the laptop and was obviously listening to something invigorating as he pecked away at his keypad.
I nudged Kevin, who was sitting next to me, and whispered that we were sitting next to Marvin Bell. And then I felt a little silly. Kevin doesn’t have any reason to know who Marvin Bell is, and even after my hushed explanation, it was obvious that I was more excited about the encounter that Kevin was.
We all sat and drank and talked, and I kept an eye on Marvin out of the corner of my eye. Just another poet in Iowa City staring into a laptop screen at a coffeehouse. There aren’t as many of those at the location we were at yesterday, but the downtown store is thick with them (probably explaining Marvin’s presence where he was). Ava finally started to get a bit antsy, so we packed up and prepared to leave. As we walked out the door, I considered that it would be great if someday Ava got excited by sitting next to a famous poet in a coffeehouse. Not because I had, but because it seems more…worthy of her, somehow, I guess. More so than fawning over the latest heartthrob out of Hollywood or coveting the newest cell phone.
I wish Ava would be able to remember how much she changed this year. I don’t know any more about child development than I know from having been around my own daughter these last two years, but it’s amazing to see how much she grows from week to week. New words and movements and facial expressions come at us all the time, but it’s not until I’ve had a moment of reflection like this that I can begin to see the way it all comes together to shape her personality.
Maybe Ava’s right to pay so little attention to the beginning of the new year. I’m not even sure I really understand what a “year” is anymore after having my sense of time turned inside out by the little person running through my life. I just know I want to stop every moment I spend with her and save it.