One Tail at a Time

Bean Sprouts and Peaches

I am giving the books a rest, because as much as I am learning from my husband and the many liberties he took with my life, I cannot read for long.  Ye Hua needs constant attention and my poor Mi Gu is exhausted.  We are on the ship and being a place he is constantly moaning about while doing his best to keep up with an active, on the move, baby, he has had little time to enjoy what is also meant to be a break for him, because my son, being very much like his father, demands every minute of his attention.

So putting the books away, I send the man off to his chamber to rest for the night while Ye Hua and I spend a few hours playing with his new building blocks.  They are actually very simple shaped blocks of scrap wood that the captain had kept to use for all manner of things including the creation of toys for the little ones who sometimes visit the other ships and after a few minutes of watching Ye Hua place his blocks one on top of the other with a very steady hand,  I realize that even though the child is a handful most of the time, when he is settled, he is too.  

And this gives me an idea.  It is obvious the boy needs more to occupy his mind, because just a simple thing like wooden blocks is activating his problem solving skills and imagination while also strengthening his motor skills.  He might be just a baby, but I can tell he is very bright and the way his little tongue is hanging out the side of his mouth, says he has the ability to focus when he is in a space or learning.

Mo Yuan is a great teacher, under him I learned everything I know, and having read the manner of child he thought me to be, it is actually a wonder that I learned anything.  But I did.  In fact I am still learning from him.  That magazine has been a constant reminder of those days and the stupid things that had passed through my mind, but having raised it with him, he has taken me through several more moves every night since we have been here.  

But I digress.  I dont think education should be limited to a certain age, so I am thinking of adding Ye Hua to the group of younger Disciples.  They are still young enough to accept a baby among them but old enough to protect and help guide and seeing as Die Feng is the main caregiver along with Fu Yu, I have no concerns in leaving him in their care for a couple of hours a day.  It would also free up Mo Yuan and give me a little time to myself.

So finishing up the play time when a little yawn begins to emerge from the happy little face at my side, I lift him into my arms to carry him in for his dinner, which is followed by a noisy messy bath which I am sure the entire ship can hear.  He is such an adorable little boy when he is happy and the squeals of laughter are rising when his father enters to watch him throwing his bath water out of the tub and all over me.

His eyes are sparkling with mirth but his smile a little lopsided, so between the pearls of laughter that I am erupting, I am quietly pondering on what is going through his head.  I know the mess Ye Hua is making is not to his liking being a rather fussy man when it comes to order,  only I know I am not mistaking that look on his face.  It is one that I have learned to detect very quickly and suddenly the heat is rising to my cheeks because it is so inappropriate seeing as Ye Hua is right here in the middle of us.

"Just the way I like to see you...." he says softly... in that tone of voice that has the heat spreading straight to my cheeks and my knees weakening...... "Wet!" he adds with a wink which has my knees buckling beneath me seeing as I am literally hanging over the side of the tub to keep hold of the baby who is still wiggling about and completely oblivious to us.

"Mo Yuan!  Not in front of Ye Hua!" I chide him as I quickly scramble back up to catch hold of our son who is about to slip beneath the water.

Lowering himself to one knee and perfectly avoiding the large puddle of water around me, he then leans in to lightly stroke our sons face who's eyes are still sparkling with laughter.