The
Jordan Harold Update
Summer 1996
801 “D” Street Apartment # 21, Davis California
-95616-
These days Jordan and I still walk the foggy streets of Davis but sometimes
now we walk side by side and hand in hand. He likes to brush hair-his,
mine, Bozo’s, rub backs (“rubrub” he says), and find
words and new ways to get his point across.
He seems mostly a small person now, very little infant left. He is a
person who is adventurous and generous, stubborn yet willing to work
out a trade...and learning every moment...crayons and swings, trees
and magnets...
I have the joy of watching Jordan develop not only physically now, but
more and more mentally, emotionally, and creatively-art even!!! From
his first tries at it, sort of grasping a black pen and making short
stabs at the paper, to now controlling his lines and dots and choosing
his own colors (his current favorite is red). He plays “toot toot”
on his own plastic recorder in imitation of Louis and “shakey shakey”
with small latin rattles all around the house. He dances to music (he
thinks Bob Marley is king) and when others do. I wish you could have
him rumba and tango when the ballroom dance finals were on PBS. There
are still little Jordan songs to be sung about everything as well.
He has more words for things that he has learned from us as well as
hand signs that he concocted himself and taught to us. New games and
new ways of interacting all the time. He is trying to figure out people
his own size but finding them more unpredictable and dangerous than
the big folk that he knows. That doesn’t stop him though.
Most mornings are spent in the park-sometimes just watching as people,
and animals, and the wind in the trees do what they do and then other
mornings hands and face and running full tilt baby into everything—-JORDAN
DO!!!! He wants so much to do things just a little out of his reach
and helping him often just makes him angry. So I help where he will
let and encourage him where he will not.
Still there are hours (or sometimes days) when he wants to be held and
tells me to do and show him.
I’m still trying to learn about him as he learns about me and we
together learn about our world
