although perhaps the later is more accurate, at least until we have the marble columns installed.
so what is this thing?
well to be completely blunt it is a cage and it is where cohen lives now. ok, maybe not.
it all started a couple of months ago when we were in toys r us looking at baby gates and happened upon this contraption. we laughed in wonder, and contemplated who would ever purchase such a thing, isn't it wrong, i mean unless you have a big backyard and need a place to put junior while you sip pina coladas? we ended up purchasing our baby gate, installing it, and not giving the matter another moments though.
then he became mobile, not in the meandering around the room at a snails pace mobile, but the variety that facilitates him snatching and promptly inserting into his mouth an array of no-no's. i foolishly thought that if i was there beside him watching i would be immune, but cohen just isn't that kid. he knows how to grab quickly, almost without notice, and he knows how to scan a room and pick up on the one spot that contains something that could harm him. as a result, i have been daydreaming lately about living in an apartment that could have a cohen room, a place where the edges are rounded and the furniture plush. i would sit in there with him and read while he just existed, doing as he pleased. instead, i have been spending my entire day following him around, pulling him back, retrieving things from his mouth, sweeping the floor. even reading a book was becoming inconceivable. it was starting to take a toll, but that is what motherhood is about right? all the jokes about chasing a toddler, and the more experienced with their jeers about waiting and walking and i know nothing.
then i remembered the cage. i hesitated to bring it up, scared that bringing it up might mean doing it and doing it might be wrong. but, the thing is, our apartment has the space for it and it folds right up and puts away when company is over, and most of all it guarantees safety and sanity. now don't get me wrong, i know that he needs to learn what he can and can't touch. i know that shielding him isn't truly protecting him in the long run, but for right now, while he his need to explore far outweighs his ability to understand, he has this, a palace all of his own.
so how does he like it? luckily for us he seems to think it is pretty great. there is a wall he can use to cruise around the whole thing, something he didn't have before, and there is that great roof on the back (founded in my childhood love of building and playing in tents). he can play without my constant mumbling of no, and i can play too, which for us makes this a pretty great solution.
5 comments:
As someone who doesn't have kids, this does not horrify me. I think it's kind of like a fort. We used to take all the cushions off the sofa, build them into a fort and then cover the whole thing with blankets, FUN!
nice one t - perhaps we'll sip pina coladas together - i too remember those great tent/sofa/forts we'd build.
Maybe you should call it Guantcoheno Bay? I'm just joking! We've already talked about it and I came to see the photos. Actually looks like a lot of fun and a much much better option than a playpen. Love the fort cover.
Next time we come over I look forward to plopping Atticus in there with Cohen and us sipping something a bit stronger than tea.
Yeah, this is like a 5 star playpen. Nice job Tara. It's all about balance.
have you read/heard of 'a pattern language'? its a house/community planning book from the 70s, still a classic today. I have it but have only skimmed through it - apparently, kids love enclosed spaces in their houses. it makes them feel secure. the book recommends that if you don't have a fort-like space for your kid, you should create one (it also recommends things like sloped ceilings & sleeping spaces built into walls) - & look, you've created one! nice work. Cohen looks like the master of his domain.
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