Water Table
This was a gift for both kids. I thought really carefully about Christmas, and used it to help wean Louisette of certain baby things (giving them to her younger cousin) that I want OUT OF MY HOUSE now TJ is getting too big to need them (eg we had three cot toys) – and to prepare for the long dark time when Louisette and TJ are both mobile enough to take each other’s toys, but not mature enough to restrain themselves. So our kids tended to get some joint gifts, and a lot of very carefully paired gifts (like two cars, two duplo sets) – plus of course some that are just for Louisette, and will be kept well out of TJ’s reach (or at least that’s the plan – she IS old enough to learn from negative experiences if she doesn’t pack up her own things).
First Christmas
Today’s was TJ’s first Christmas twice over – it is his first Christmas, since he’s less than a year old, and it’s his first Christmas of three family Christmases (my side, Chris’ side, and one just for the four of us). But this one was the big one. . . the one with all the cousins. And, as a result, the one with the most presents.
It was insane. I haven’t felt so dizzy with flying Christmas paper and uncountable numbers of thrilling gifts since I was a child. The three toddler girls lent an urgency to the whole thing, as the oldest ran through her own and started claiming more, at the same time as our Louisette became briefly possessive of gifts she’d wrapped to give to others. Like all the greatest Christmas mornings, it hung trembling between ecstasy and an all-out brawl.
And stayed on ecstasy. No injuries, no screaming matches, no tantrums. And TJ had a blast.
After a morning spent wrapping gifts with Louisette (a strategy that SEEMS to be working in keeping her generous rather than greedy – but presents must be given FAST or there’s trouble), we loaded up the car and put some of the gifts on the seat beside Louisette. When I heard a suspicious crinkling from the back, I turned to check she wasn’t unwrapping the gifts she’d just helped wrap. It wasn’t her – it was TJ. He’s spotted the shiny stuff from his chair and had reached out to try and grab them. All I could see was his little hand flailing at the loot. And so it begins.
We took a BUNCH of pictures of the cousins and of my whole family (we get the whole crowd together only once or twice a year, and this was the first time since TJ was born so it was extra special), then did the present thing. It should be noted that I’ve been buying far too many gifts for my kids for MONTHS. So many that I’ve been desperately peddling them to other relatives since October (“Hey Mum, wanna buy a water table? Please?? They’re gonna love it!”)
Long story short, we’re home now with the kind of dizzy satiation only multiple small children can bring to Christmas.
One down, two to go.
Oh yeah – and here’s TJ.
The tiniest protestor
My mother and sister were both arrested today.
Last week a new Migration Bill was passed granting extraordinary powers (including a great deal of secrecy) to the Immigration Minister. The following day, the government used its new power to begin the procedure of deporting 25 asylum seeker babies that were born here in Australia. Eight of the babies are from the Rohingya people group, who are not recognised as citizens by their native Myanmar. They are persecuted on that basis, and women and children have been killed (both by institutions and by mobs) simply for being Rohingya.
Australia helped to write the Refugee Convention that made it illegal to send people back to a place where it was likely they’d be tortured or killed. This new Migration Bill overturned it, making Australia a willing and knowing accessory to crimes against humanity.
I want it to be illegal to send people back to a place where they’re likely to be harmed.
I want total transparency on all refugee cases taking place in Australia.
I want all asylum seekers processed in Australia (so they have basic human rights protection), by people who are politically neutral, with reasonable speed and a clear time-frame (as opposed to indefinite imprisonment without trial, as too many are now suffering).
I want all refugees deemed safe (by a neutral body) to be released into the community – there are dozens of individuals and organisations that have volunteered to take them, which would save Australia millions of dollars.
I want Temporary Protection Visas to be used only until cases are processed, and then converted into true security for the men, women, children and babies who need a home.
So basically, I’d like asylum seekers treated as humans in genuine need until proven otherwise.
That is why I attended the protest today at which my mother and sister were arrested (I was in the outside crowd, which was never at risk of arrest). And that is why TJ attended – representing the 25 Australian-born babies that our government is trying to get rid of.
Felicity Banks 