toby of the day, 11.30.2008

Toby has had a number of loves so far during his short time with us. There was the black halogen lamp, the blue lamp, the American analog set poster, Mr. Cow. There are still owls, phones, dogs and pumpkins. But right now, on top of it all, there are balls. There is a corner store at the end of our street (eddie’s discount liquors) that has three baskets of balls that they set out every day. And every time we leave the house, toby is ready to sprint down the hill to find them. We can’t go anywhere near that corner without spending at least a few minutes while he tries to fish a ball out of one of those baskets. Of course, eddie’s doesn’t have a monopoly on balls. In fact, like pumpkins, they’re everywhere. Especially when you can’t tell the difference between something that is simply spherical, such as a decorative stone finial on a handrail or a round glass ornament, and a ball which might be suitable to throw or kick. Yesterday we purchased a ball that is full of water and glitter that shake around like a snow globe when you throw it. It’s actually quite awesome. But still, jon and I did eventually tire of hearing about it. it was all he could talk about in the store, and on the walk home, and after we reached home. and then once we got it home, he would cradle it in his hand like some sort of magic gem before hurling it across the room and screaming “a ball”. I think that is my favorite part, actually. While he may not yet have the vocabulary or prefrontal cortex of a modern human, and while he is sure to break something in short shrift because he cannot catch the ball after he sends it ricocheting around the room, by adding that ‘a’, he is telling us that he is sophisticated, cultured, ready for us to acknowledge his arrival as a person. Of course, we’ll know he’s really arrived at personhood when he calls it ‘my ball’.