Observations On Laundry

Valerie has recently discovered that the Charlotte Library has quite a selection of DVD's available to rent at no or a very minimal charge ($2 for new releases) which includes a wide array of titles and genres covering everything from some of the very newest releases (we just saw Transformers last week), to Foreign films, to Classics, to Documentaries.

Having no cable in our house and only being able to enjoy the DVDs we own for so long, I've truly enjoyed many of the movies she has brought home and was enjoying a documentary she checked out for me on the battle between Stalin and Hitler on the Eastern front in WWII just this morning when the following footage unfolded before my eyes.

My initial reaction that caused me to grab the camera was "Oh, a cute shot of a baby playing in a basket with the laundry...won't the grandma's be thrilled!" However, as this went on, I noticed a few other things with a little deeper meaning and significance:

First and most apparent - Why do we ever bother paying a dime for toys for children under the age of at least 3? I know I've mentioned this before in a posting, but as you see from this clip, with the wall of toys and the floor covered behind him, what makes him happiest? Where does he find the greatest satisfaction? From the $50 Playskool set? The Little Einstein DVD's? Any of the HUNDREDS of dollars of toys?

No. He finds his greatest joy in the moment, sitting in a basket, playing with a sock. Maybe we should take a lesson?

Second - I've noticed on several occasions (and especially when he's fired up and giving me a good baby cussing) that some of the "babbling" as most would call it that comes out of Zayne's mouth has a distinctively German flair to it. I've noted this to Valerie several times and mentioned how I wish I could speak German, for one because there was a tremendous amount of substantial and influential theological work done in German, and for another so I could speak to him and see if he could talk back! I'm not so certain that my suspicions weren't aroused today as you'll see in this clip. If you notice, there's a point when its almost as though he's really getting into the movie when before he hadn't really been paying any attention at all. I thought perhaps he just didn't share my passion for all things WWII, but then when they began interviewing one of the Germans, suddenly Zayne tuned in and even seemed to nod a time or two, as if in either agreement or disapproval, I don't know which since I don't speak German! Coincidence? Maybe....