Frustration

The word of the day is frustration. It has to be one of the most annoying human feelings out there; utter helplessness in the face of a problem and the sense that there is nothing you can do about it.

It's all around us. It started last week with my dad (Kirin's dadaji) who fell on some ice and badly tore some ligaments in his right knee. He is having difficulty walking, can't drive for six to eight weeks and, just as difficult, my mum (Kirin's dadiji) is in complete control of his life.

Well, dad, your grandson feels your pain. For the past week or so, the serious urge to crawl has reared its head and Kirin certainly feels frustrated when he doesn't manage to propel himself forward. The routine goes something like this: we either stick him on his tummy or put him on his back and within five seconds he flips himself over; he pushes his head and shoulders up with his arms and looks ahead of him to see what toy he should be reaching for; and then, with all the strength he can muster, he goes for it - he sticks his little bum in the air and starts moving his arms in the manner of a breast stroke or doggie paddle; and after a few minutes, he hits the "wall" and begins whimpering, until we pick him, turn him over and the cycle begins again.

The frustration doesn't end with him. For us, as parents, we want to show him how to do it. "If you stick your bum in the air," we want to say, "don't drive your head into the ground." Instead, we just tell him to keep on trying and, for the time being, he seems to be willing to try, try again.

Of course, frustration is a pointless exercise and Kirin knows this better than most. I had thought the picture for this post would be of Kirin's face contorted like a raisin after he has unsuccessfully tried to crawl. Instead, he simply looked up at the camera with curious, doe eyes just to prove that however tough things might get, he wasn't going to sully his blog with negative vibes. That's our boy!