Friday, April 27, 2007

Our Masterpiece


May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Forever Young, Bob Dylan

On this date one year ago today, the most beautiful, magical work of art came into the life of my wife and I—our son, Alex (above at 6 months and below at around 11 months).

We’ve begun his art education already. Alex visited the PMA to see the Tesoros/Treasures/Tesouros: The Arts in Latin America, 1492–1820 exhibit. Strapped to my chest in a baby carrier, his little feet pumped with excitement when we later visited Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Cezanne’s Large Bathers in the Impressionism section. Alex visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York seated high above the crowds on one of the museum’s baby carriers strapped to my back. He patiently waited until his parents finished wondering at Sargent’s The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit in the Americans in Paris: 1860-1900 exhibit .
I can’t wait until he picks up his first crayon, then his first pencil, and then his first brush. I look forward to many masterpieces to put on the fridge and my office wall. Regardless of what vocation he later pursues, I want him to experience art, to feed on this food for the soul and grow into a person with the depth and breadth to understand and appreciate the world around him. To see his imagination and curiosity growing each day at this age just makes me more excited to be there when he grows older and more curious about his world and learns how he can grasp it through his imagination. As a parent, the greatest fun for me is watching each of his new experiences and reliving them anew through his eyes. Picasso once said that he spent his entire life trying to draw like a child, and anyone who has loved a child knows exactly what he means. They are how the world stays forever young.

Happy Birthday, Alex!



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a sweetie! Happy birthday, Alex.

From Sweden with Grief said...

I am too late but; Happy Birthday, Alex! I agree, he is your masterpiece, for life.:) He is lovely!