Viewing Time and Space Through the Looking Glass

Dear Daughter,

Papa came back from his short trip to London and brought you some booty from across the Channel. We checked them out last evening and already put them to use.

I had forgotten that I did not have stuff for your lunch for school, so we had to walk over to the store to get things, so, we got to use your new Compass to help figure out which direction we were going.

And, you were able to use your new Magnifying Glass to read the letters indicating that we were going SE or SouthEast.

And, then, after making a card for your friend and looking at the other things Papa brought back from London, I told you that it was Time to go to bed, and showed you on your Pocket Watch, (since you can never keep your hands of Papa's fancy pocket watch) so you can now begin to tell Time as well, which you also looked at with your Magnifying Glass.

I hope you enjoy learning all about Time and Space with these things and as you already do, to look closer at the world around you.

I Love You,
Papa

Like a Pale Balloon

Dear Daughter,

While Papa was in London, Summer officially began with the longest day of the year. Maybe you noticed that it is much lighter later, especially in Belgium where it is very far North. Papa bought you a compass while here, so we can always tell which way is North when we are traveling.

Last night, when Papa was walking, he saw this beautiful moon over the streets of London. Remember how you always used to get excited about the "day-time moon which hangs like a pale balloon"? This moon reminded me of you always saying that when we would be riding on the bicycle to school.

Papa will be back in Antwerp tonight and then you and I will be going to Texas soon, where the nights will be very hot, and the moon very big. Remember last year when we saw the giant Blue Moon?

I hope you enjoy this picture. It looks like the poster of a Magritte painting that Papa has in his bedroom, don't you think?

I Love You,
Papa

Do They Speak English There?

Dear Daughter,

Papa is in London for a couple of days, which is a really big city in England, just across the English Channel from Belgium.

Here they have a Queen and they just celebrated something called a "jubilee" to celebrate how long she has been the Queen of England, so there are lots of British flags everywhere and pictures of the Queen.

The language that you speak with Papa is called English because it came from here, but it is a bit different than the English that you speak with Papa, because it is from America. So, when you visit England, you will hear people say words like "posh" and "lovely" a lot. They also say different words for the same things we have. The back of a car, which we call a trunk is a "boot" here and an elevator is what they use in Belgium too, a "lift". Big trucks are called "lorries" and when you are in a store or restaurant, they will ask, "Are you all right?" instead of "Can I help you?"

So, just like the differences in languages, you will find that there are also differences in the same language.

Crazy, isn't it?

I Love You,
Papa

PS I found something cool for you at the Portobello market this morning.

A Flower Given to My Daughter

Dear Daughter,

Papa is reminded of James Joyce this weekend because it was Bloomsday, something Papa will explain later when you are older.

James Joyce was an Irish writer who loved languages and inventing new words and puzzles with words. He lived in Belgium for a short while and called Antwerp "Gnatwerp" because of all the muggen, something you also don't like here because they bite you at night.

He also had a daughter, Lucia, whom he loved very much and wrote her this poem that I wanted to share with you.

It is called, "A Flower Given to My Daughter." I have tried to provide you with flowers of various kinds over the years, and you gave me the most beautiful one the other day from the vine outside.

Here is the poem.


Frail the white rose and frail are
Her hands that gave
Whose soul is sere and paler
Than time's wan wave.

Rosefrail and fair -- yet frailest
A wonder wild
In gentle eyes thou veilest,
My blueveined child. 


Always keep your wonder wild and eyes gentle to the Beauty of life.

I Love You,
Papa

One Fish, Edue Gheti

Dear Daughter,

We have been reading lots of Dr. Seuss lately as you are in the early stages of reading and now see all the funny words that Papa used to read to you are now ones that you need to puzzle through.

And, English is not easy.

With Dutch, which we also read at times, there is a one-to-one equivalent of what a word looks like and how it sounds.

Unfortunately, and fortunately, my Daughter, you are bi-lingual with English and it is not always easy. We have puzzled through many words together and at times, you just look at me with exasperation and say, "Papa, how can this sound like this?!?"

I am sorry, there is no good rule for English, and it will just come down to practice.

One of the books we read was "One Fish, Two Fish...", but the second part could be written Edue Gheti.

If you take the -ed of a word like trick-ed, it sounds like "t", then add the "ue" from Tuesday and you get Edue. And then, the "gh" of enough added to the "e" of pen and the "ti" of the suffix "tion" you get Gheti, which could sound like Two Fish.

I know, my child, things are complicated, but luckily you have the sense of humor to see that sometimes things are just silly.

I Love You,
Papa

Left Out

Dear Daughter,

Thank you for the Father's Day greetings today. For some reason, in all of Belgium, it is Father's Day today, but not in Antwerp, leaving it out of the calendar for this day.

However, you said that you were "glad that I am your Papa," to which I responded that "I am glad that I have you as a daughter, because, otherwise, I wouldn't be a Papa."

The worlds of children and parents are intertwined and entangled, sometimes things are for the better, sometimes things can be rather for the worse, but we remain parents and children all of our lives, no matter what the circumstances.

Yesterday, when you saw a flower blooming on our vine in the courtyard, you whispered, "I wish I could just cut one off for Papa." I "heard" you, but asked what did you say. You answered, "Nothing, Papa, but you can't look at me for a little bit." In the interim, I held my hands over my eyes and heard lots of shuffling and you talking to yourself, guiding yourself through the process.

Then, you asked me to look, and taking away my hands from my eyes, here is what I saw:

This was the best Father's Day gift I could ever ask for, even if it wasn't for Father's Day.

I Love You,
Papa

The Game of LIFE

Dear Daughter,

Last evening after dinner, we played the game of LIFE on my iPad, a game that Papa used to play many years ago as a board game and with the funky white, plastic volcanic spinner. Perhaps we'll play the real thing too this summer in New Mexico.

You won the game, and I was thinking that it was nice that the advice I was able to give you in the game of LIFE helped you to do better than Papa, which is what we always hope for our children at some level.

Also, at one point, when it came to "Spin to Win," something you had done twice already that game, once with four numbers and then again with two to no avail, this time you only had one number. I suggested to you to put down quite a bit of a gamble because you were winning and could afford it. You said,  "I know it won't work." To that, I countered that we can never know for 100% certain that something will or will not work. You allowed me to gamble the maximum for your spin, and guess what, you hit the number this time and that won the game for you.

We can NEVER know for sure if something will or will not happen. Sometimes it is foolish to take big risks, but at other times, those risks are what "win" the game of LIFE for us.

Thank you for trying, and thank you for realizing that even if something went wrong in the past, it does not mean that it will in the present.

I Love You,

Papa

Papa's Papa's Old Records

Dear Daughter,

As we were playing UNO tonight, and a certain Papa was getting schooled by his six-year old daughter game after game, we were also listening to my father's old LPs that I have here.

Recently I was able to hook up this new record player to play via the computer, and we have been listening to many ever since.

During the game a few times, Papa had to get up and persuade the needle forward as it got stuck in a groove.

Sometimes, we also can get stuck in a groove and we just need a bit of persuasion with a helping hand to move us forward.

Well, at least I got to listen to some of my favorite old Albums tonight, not so much luck with UNO...

I Love You,
Papa

Everything Has a Place, and a Time

Dear Daughter,

Papa has been rather busy with work and he let things get a bit messy lately, but this week we cleaned up everything together.

Now, it is easier to see that everything does have a place to go, your shoes and clothes and Papa's myriads of books, records and CDs. Before, it just looked like one big, Chaotic mess, but now, we can see the method to the various things around the English House.

Sometimes it is important to do a thorough cleaning and find out what belongs and what doesn't. When the remainder is found, we can find a place for each thing.

And, there is a Time for cleaning and a Time for things getting a little messy. The trick is to figure out the difference and when to respond to that Time, so that everything finds its Place.

I Love You,
Papa

PS Like Papa, every now and then it is okay to throw your clothes on the floor. Sometimes it is okay to just be a bit messy.