The life and times of Oscar Marcos Perez-Cytron. Born Thanksgiving Day 11/22/01.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
If you want to add something to Oscar's baby-blog, send an email to megan@alpha60.com and we can set it up so you can post...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
3:28 AM posted by Oscar
Every once in a while, I get a glimpse of how different Oscar's childhood is from mine. Today we went downtown to have dinner at AV and walk around after the sun went down (it's been really, really hot). We walked over to the tiny park next to the City Museum (I've never been inside... guess it will have to wait until we get back). Oscar was interested in a butterfly, the squirrels, and the cicadas. But he was terrified of the grass. He just doesn't understand grass at all. I tried to explain to him that it's a plant, but it's okay to walk on it. He wasn't having it and ran up and down a wheelchair ramp looking at the animals in the grass and going between me and Christian. It reminded me of how we used to walk Soozie and one of us would stand at the top of the hill, the other at the bottom and we would wear her out by getting her to run back and forth.
Oscar is also developing a waryness about the cicadas. Yesterday when we went to have brunch with Shannon, Patrick, Mary Kate and Shannon's friend, Sean we had to wait outside for a bit. We saw a dead cicada and some cicadas procreating (it takes four hours, they say). I explained all of this to Oscar (as well as I can, that is) and he said "okay." Whenever he says "okay" like this, I know that he's really thinking about the enormity of the topic and feels a little overwhelmed. So now when he sees the cicadas, I think he's overcome with the reality of their short little lives. Where did they come from? How long to they have. Four hours? Where will they go? What do they do underground for all those years? And where will we be in 17 years?
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
11:24 PM posted by Oscar
Here's an article written about Christian's Uncle Cooper Yates (Oscar's great uncle). He was such a unique person--creative, outspoken, funny, and maybe most of all a great storyteller. We will miss him.
PUBLISHED MONDAY, MAY 3, 2004
Cooper Yates' legacy is bigger than bricks and mortar
Much has been written and said about Cooper Yates in these last few days
following his death. I am one of those lucky people who considered myself
one of his friends, and his passing has jolted us all.
It's hard for me, even now, to imagine this community without him. In areas
where a vanilla approach is often the norm, Cooper added color, daring and
splash. His brilliant mind and heart of pure gold were all wrapped up in a
style that is timeless.
You could just plug him into any era and he would fit. His vintage Corvette
was only part of his trademark, as it didn't compare in significance to his
Kennedy-like smile, casual saunter, artistic hands and his thick Hollywood
hair, envied by men of all ages.
Historically, having buildings, streets or statues dedicated to them
immortalizes individuals of his stature. Cooper's legacy, however, is bigger
than bricks and mortar, for Cooper's gift was t! he great ability to make
you think and to push you further than your comfort zone traditionally
permitted.
How do you build a monument to ideas?
This approach was not confined to his advertising business, as it permeated
every fiber of his wide range of interests. Democrats and Republicans, men
and women alike sought his advice and opinions, because labels could not
cage a mind like his.
Though he was a lifelong Democrat, he was intolerant of nothing but
injustice, and he was never, unlike so many others, afraid, intimidated or
outraged by free political discussion. Ironically, many who sought his
creative counsel either ignored it or implemented a watered down version
because they could not stretch to accept such innovation.
To most of us, Cooper seemed to fly without a safety net, challenging the
laws of man and nature. Only in hindsight can many of his ideas be fully
appreciated.
How do you fill the void caused by the passing of such a man? I certainly
don`t have answers, but I find the only way to accept a loss of this
magnitude is to learn from it. Most of us scurry through life trying to
blend in and not make too many waves.
The tragedy in this is that respect for individuality takes a distant
second place as we promote conformity. While learning to play with others is
an important lesson, learning to be comfortable in your own skin is equally
important. Always coloring inside the lines doesn`t give you much
opportunity for growth or expression.
As I have grown older, and, hopefully, a little wiser, it appears to me
that the people who are quickest to criticize others are the ones who are
most insecure. They really don't know where they fit, and they are
constantly trying to be accepted by everyone. Approval of the masses drives
their behavior. As long as their voice sings the same song, as long as their
opinions mirror! the majority, and as long as they are all throwing stones
at the same target, they must be right.
Maybe Cooper learned his junior high school lessons better than most,
because trying to please everyone actually pleases no one, and the real you
gets lost in translation. In addition, fertile ground for creativity is
sacrificed. Being edgy and without boundaries will not win you a popularity
contest, not while you are living, anyway.
Review history and observe how so many of our great leaders, philosophers,
inventors and artists were often scorned or ridiculed because they dared to
be different, and they stood out from the crowd. We are complex animals
because while we crave leadership and hunger for individuality, we try to
suppress both. Mercifully, some manage to survive the conformity revolution
and add fresh ideas and zing to life.
Our nurseries and classrooms are filled with young Coopers. And while he
would laugh to hear me say so, he would know it is true.
So, here's to you, Cooper. Thanks for making a difference by being
different.
4:06 AM posted by Oscar
So much stuff has been going on the past weeks... Bett and Dixon visiting, Uncle Cooper's very sudden death, Christian's trip down to Pensacola, Skip's visit, the pro-choice march here in DC, and Kathy and Bill's visit this past weekend. I'll have to post photos and more about all of this soon.
Right now, we're just diligently working our way through a list of over a hundred things that we have to do before we leave. We are almost ready to apply for our visa. We've got a couple of big projects on the house left and then just a whole bunch of little things. We've decided to rent it out through a property management company, mainly because we just don't want to have to deal with tenants directly...
Oscar's linguistic abilities are expanding exponentially. He doesn't mix Spanish and English much at all anymore, though he still confuses syntax. He even corrects our mistakes sometimes ("camisa roja, no camisa rojo") and he's just learning so much every day. He's still so emotional and loving. He's developed a very deep attachment to a little "trolley" that I bought him at Union Station. It is clenched in his hand all day long and he takes it everywhere. He also now has a daytime gator that he carries around in the house (but puts down when he goes outside). When he goes to bed, he very passionately says "adios" to his daytime friends and sleeps with Gator, Bunny and Kangaroo. He's very disciplined about all of this. In fact, he's disciplined about most things. He's not messy, he loves putting things away, and he can't stand to have even the smallest stain on his clothing. In short, he's nothing like us!
He is getting easier to communicate with, though he can still get overwhelmed emotionally at times. The tantrums have subsided and he's more able to tell us things. Tonight I said "es la hora" (it is time) and he said "de dormir" (to sleep) and he went upstairs to bed. He now understands the concept of delayed gratification: first you do this, then you can do that. He really thrives on routine. I'm a little concerned about our first few weeks in Madrid, because the routine will be pretty seriously disrupted, but we'll get through it...
I still haven't really gotten much of a chance to really absorb that we are leaving in two months. There's just too much to do between now and then. I am starting to feel a bit nostalgic about DC. All of the things we love about this place where we have lived for over ten years. So we're not doing anything extravagant before we go, we're just going to keep doing all of the little things that we love, like going to the parks we like, eating at our favorite places, spending time with people we care about. And it's funny, our house is actually starting to be a nice place to live. It's no longer a crazy hovel. People who expect basic living standards will be able to live here. And we'll be going to Madrid to live in an apartment that will be tinier than our first one here in DC. Life is funny.
But a nice long break will do us good. We're just about at the end of our rope in terms of the work we have been doing and need to figure out the next stage. And, even though we are going to really miss friends and family, we have both always loved Spain and have wanted to live there. We've basically scrimped and saved for years to be able to do something like this (though we may not have realized it all along) and now have the good fortune of having this house which makes it even more feasible. I know this will be a mind-expanding for all of us, but especially for Oscar. It will ensure that he is a completely bilingual and multicultural person for life. And I think Spain is a very good place to raise children. The philosophy of family is so different there. The idea of a city and public life is so much more open and vibrant. So we are starting to get excited. I'm reading a really well-written travel memoir on Spain called "Roads to Santiago." There is just so much complicated history there. I can't wait to study it and immerse ourselves in it. And of course Christian is looking forward to the food. We'll miss our pupusas, but we'll have a lot to compensate for it.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
