Rocking

There is an old aunty in my church who told me that she only talks when she comes to church. At home, her children don't converse with her because she's hard of hearing. So I make a point to chat with her a little (must speak more loudly into her left ear) during Sunday breakfasts. From her candid remarks, I got to see Calder from a different perspective.

When I told her Calder is my son, she exclaimed: "I thought this fellow was very strange! He can play the piano but he doesn't talk!"

And last Sunday, she remarked: 

"When your son sits, he rocks." 

I replied: "Oh, I hadn't realised that. But it doesn't matter (不碍事)." 

And she said, "你很看得开。” (Hard to translate this.)

To this old aunty, it's probably tragic to have a child who behaves atypically. But I wouldn't stop Calder from rocking because he probably does that because he is "at peace". (If agitated, his leg would jiggle.) 

Maybe there was a time when I cared about how Calder look to others. 21 years into parenthood, I only care that he's calm and contented, if not happy.