Thursday, December 18, 2008

I thought i would dream about the dead bird

I didn't dream about the dead bird. 

But i kept on and on thinking about it. Because although i try not to believe in signs and portents, my attempts at rationality disappear when there's a very sick baby in the house. 

Long ago, before i had--or even thought about kids of my own--i knew a Tamizh teacher who told me that she got pregnant after/because a house sparrow built a nest inside her house. And a couple of years ago, i even blogged about how house sparrows were trying to nest in our home, but i didn't think about any connection until i was well and truly pregnant with Baby A. 

So now we are at the point where i have a very sick baby lying face down on my chest and a dead house sparrow lying on the window sill with its legs curling upwards pathetically. And i keep on returning to that equation and assuming the worst. Later on, my mother part coaxes, part bullies me past this image. 

My mom: Did Big A dispose of the bird?

Yes.

Oracle Mom: I think that means you've just rid yourself of any danger stalking Baby. 

I'll take it.

FTW Mom: Also, remember that your first house sparrow didn't actually nest or hatch in the house. It wanted to, you chased it away, and you still had a baby.


I love her. And i have to admire the way she can turn anything on its head with the best contemporary theorists.
_


3 comments:

Blue said...

In addition, going back & checking your posts reveals the nesting sparrows happened several months before you started nesting Baby A. (Sorry if that sounds creepy -- figured I might as well do the math.)

Therefore correlation does not imply causation, QED.

I'd say "I'm sending hugs for Baby A," but she'd probably not like that too much, so I'll send get-well wishes from a non-space-invasive distance.

And hugs for you.

maya said...

Blue, you're certainly judicious about where you bestow your hugs :). Thank you very much for mine.

And you doing the math for me also made me smile. So thanks for that too!

Unknown said...

House sparrows are very good in the sense they are indicators of the wellness of the surrounding environment. So to get the house sparrows nest regularly, try placing old shoeboxes and boxes with sparrow size holes 2 inches above the floor of the box. The nest boxes should be anchored / fixed properly. Also place feed and water for them.
We do that in our Kodaikanal guest house and my home in Bangalore

you can see some of my kodaikanal pictures at http://www.kodaikanalhotels.com/

Best regards
Bala

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