jonah’s experience of the inauguration

I turn on the TV to set the Tivo to record (since I won’t let him watch TV). He immediately pulls himself up against the TV stand and looks up at the giant screen, at the crowds.

Hiiiii! He says.

I turn off the TV, switch to laptop, load the flash player to watch streaming video on CNN (smaller screen, up high, Jonah not terribly interested.)

Bounce! he says.

I have the boy perched atop a giant pink gym ball, bouncing him while trying to hold my back straight to avoid straining a muscle while watching the screen of my computer on the folding table beside me out of the corner of my eye.

Down! he says.

I put him down. He gets a leaf from the ficus. Leaf! We play a game of he pretends to eat the leaf, laughs, says no. I take it, hide it in one hand, offer two fists. He picks one, no leaf. He laughs. Picks the other hand. Leaf! He takes it, starts to put it in his mouth. Repeat.

Dance! he says, just as Aretha is taking the stage. I pick him up. It’s not a very good dancing song. He looks at the screen. Hat!

Yes it is.

I get Jonah a hat for him to put on and take off.

The classical quartet begins. I pull him on my lap. Look, Jonah! Violin!

Lin! he says, Deedledeelde deedle.

Nurse! he says. We nurse our way through the speech. The Speech.

He stops. Looks at the computer screen.

Obama, I tell him. President Oh-bah-ma.

He looks.

Down! he says.

And I put him down.

He resumes play.