1st fortnight of Juny 2011 Barcelona. Montanyans 1 (Bº La Ribera)
A new dad’s first steps are always clumsy and imprecise. Luckily, babies, though have no patience, do not get frustrated with their caregivers (in that, they are clever from day one) and that’s the reason why they provide such broad possibilities: laughter mixed with weeping, calm and quiet moments mixed with anxious and hurried ones. Moreover, if your windows are wide open to the street, as the morning goes by the sounds of people passing by, of children playing in the park, of birds, of noisy shops (like the saw cutting at the butcher’s shop beneath), of people whistling, of the wind chimes on a neighbor’s balcony, of bells, of sirens, or the neighbor’s dog barking amongst others, configure a continuous flow of sounds that merges the public and the private, the articulated with the simple, the environmental sounds with those from specific activities, the meaningful with the mere anecdotal... and all this is spiced up with some music and other T.V. incursions. In the end, it all conforms a totum revolutum that involves and accompanies us in our daily routines, whether we pay attention to it or not: whether we take advantage of it or not.
English version: Noemí Aznar

Washing up: a power struggle (4/6)



Since Alea seems to be relaxed, I decide to tackle another activity that I have left: dishes. With all imaginable doubts, I tell her my intentions so she doesn’t think that I leave just because… and I even sit her in her rocking chair to have her under control. I fold the baby changer and as quietly as possible I get to the task... The noise from the pots and pans gets mixed with the sounds breaching in from the balcony: someone whistling a melody, birds and some voices, a motorcycle in the distance..
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 03:30 It seems that she doesn’t like my decision, but I have no other choice but to do the dishes… Perhaps this can even be counterproductive… who knows, it’s possible that the pots and pans’ noises… I try to soothe her with my talking but that’s not beeing that effective… In the end, as expected, baby’s wishes trump her dad’s intentions and, after apologyzing to her, I proceed to satisfy her little baby wishes.

04:30 In case pots and pans and little baby wishes were not enough, while confused amongst the first beats of the first song I play (Yan Tiersen’s “Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain”) the grandparents call us by videochat, but it is not a good time… now it’s time to dance to another of her usual melodies. Rhythm is ideal and I mark it with the tipical pats on her diaper, as if it were a waltz: little round and simple melodies, fun arrangements that also allow me to dance at different intensities… twirls, swings, silly little steps, we enjoy it very much.

07:35 Alea has forgotten the world and has fallen asleep… I leave her on her blanket, on the couch, I sit on my office chair in the living room in front of the computer and I take some time to chat with her mother who, once finished her maternity leave (shared with mine) has gone back to work. I find her in the office and I give her the status report. It is a good time because when Alea is calmed, relaxed or sleeping I also relax and enjoy. In this case I also enjoy the sounds that come in throught the window: those birds that, swiftly, chirp, sing or simply let themselves to be heard, just like the people passing by or staying still, the children playing, a dog or two, the butcher’s saw… they exist.

I recline myself on the chair taking pleasure in a moment like this (defeated or defeating)… but Alea starts to get uneasy… I tell her something just to see what she does but it is time to feed her again and… that’s all, folks.
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