Techi Vignette, A

Dad
May 23, 2003

—1 yr. 4 mos.7/80DO 1738

—By Father David

1. WE JUST HAD SOME CAKE LAST NIGHT‚ delicious soft, butter-cream chocolate cake that dear Alf got for dear James' birthday—& ice cream! We really had a good birthday party for dear James!

2. —AND GUESS WHO WAS THE STAR ENTERTAINER? THAT WOULDN'T BE HARD TO GUESS!—OUR DEAR LITTLE TECHI! She stole the show, (against which everything else paled into insignificance!) She was the main showgirl of the evening & kept everything very lively!

3. SHE REALLY TURNS ON THE CHARM & AWAY SHE GOES, ENTERTAINING EVERYBODY! She's very jealous of her audience as well—like most stars, she doesn't want you looking at anything else or anybody else or paying attention to anyone else, especially with me! She doesn't want me to be giving any other woman my attention while she's doing her act.

4. —AND SHE CAN THINK OF ALL KINDS OF WOMAN'S WILES TO GET HER WAY! So the minute I start [being affectionate with] one of the other girls, she comes tumbling in on me like a bomb & lands on top of me to try to distract me from them & get my attention, to make sure that I keep her the center of my attention & don't let myself get distracted by any other woman!

5. SHE HAS A VERY CLEVER TECHNIQUE after she's eaten her dinner at the other end of the table: She finishes her dinner & they get her cleaned up & try to put her on the potty against many protests, but usually finally with success, & she does her doo-doo duty & everybody applauds & she smiles & takes a bow & is very happy then.

6. THEN SHE STARTS CALLING, "MAMA, MAMA!" Well, of course, dear Maria is sitting clear at the other end of the table & she has to crawl or be lifted over everybody to get to her, but she's found that that psychology works. Because what she really wants to do is to get at somebody that's sitting next to Maria‚ dear David! So she calls so pitifully, "Mama, Mama! Mama!"

7. SO EVERYBODY SYMPATHISES WITH HER & helps her crawl all across our laps & gives her a shove, & pull & a push‚ & she finally gets to Maria‚ throws her arms around her neck‚ kisses her lovingly & gives her a squeeze.

8. THEN SHE FLINGS HERSELF WITH FORCE & VIOLENCE ON TOP OF POOR DAVID who usually hasn't even finished his supper yet! He's almost as slow as his Daddy. She literally throws herself at him & usually bowls him over clear onto his back on the seat, & she lands on top of him giggling & gurgling & laughing & saying, "Bonk, bonk!" & bangs her head against his like a couple of little Tenerifans for sure!

9. —WE DID GET SOMETHING ABOUT HER BEING TENERIFAN, DIDN'T WE? (See ML No. 845.) She wants to go "Bonk, bonk!" with her head against David's. That's a favourite way of Tenerifans, & I suppose they play that way sometimes. One of their favourite ways of fighting is to bang their heads together.

10. POOR DAVID, HE'S SO PATIENT & SO GENTLE WITH HER‚ it's amazing how he puts up with her! He just tries to keep her from getting too violent & annihilating him, & once in awhile he pushes her off at arm's length & tries to at least survive.

11. WE HAVE TO KEEP TELLING HER TO BE GENTLE. "Techi‚ be gentle, don't be so rough!" But she'll say‚ "Rough! Rock!"—& she really "rocks" on top of him! Then she'll fling herself at him again & jump on top of him & pinch & smack him. I mean she is really rough, a real tomboy! She likes to play it rough like a true Pisces!

12. SWEET LITTLE DAVID MEEK & MILD DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS BIG ROUGH CHILD! (A poem!—Ha!) She really wants to play it rough!—A typical Pisces tomboy! (Maria: But he likes it.) Well, of course he likes it. He likes that she wants to play with him, & she obviously likes it. But her clever little way is to so sweetly & coyly & pitifully ask to see her Mama, when all the time what she really wants to do is get at David!—And as she crawls over me to Maria, she'll give me a passing little kiss & dutiful little hug.

13. (MARIA: ONCE SHE DID EVERY PERSON AROUND THE TABLE TO GET TO DAVID—she asked for every person around the table, one by one by name!) Yes, sometimes she'll ask for one person, & then the next & then the next one, so she can crawl across their laps & get around to our end of the table. She is really a character! Then having arrived at her final & original destination, she'll sit there in the corner between Maria & David & grin gleefully & triumphantly that she has accomplished her mission & gotten what she wanted, & she sure knows how to get it! So we're keeping the place alive & Techi is the life of the party! Anyhow, we have a lot of fun!

14. SHE'S SO SMART!—AND SAYS SO MUCH NOW! PTL! We were feeding her her usual favourite treat here yesterday—grapes, when Mama said of a very small one: "Little grape" & Techi repeated it & said, "Little tiny grape!"—all on her own. She comes in & says almost first thing: "Cherries!" But we've been correcting her: "Grapes!"—This last time she came in & said, "Cherries‚ please—no, grapes!"—And shook her two hands & head like we would when we correct ourselves—so cute! She's getting so grown up! Puts more & more words together! If someone says Mama, she'll say "Daddy too!"—Or Daddy, & she says, "Mama too!" She doesn't want either left out! GBH!—Love, D.