Ari & Kai ...and Kin

A Parent Called Ari, A Parent Called Kai...

Born to the daughter of a war bride and a POW, and the son of an immigrant and a refugee, Ari got together with Kai when they were both 26. 

Kai was born to a single mother who never declared the father, and was raised first by an aunt, then in the foster system.

Ari is the 2nd oldest of 5, and Kai is technically an only child with many foster-siblings from the system.

Neither expected to marry or have kids, until they got together. They had been living together for about 11 years when they married and started talking about children.

While talking with their therapists, they decided they were emotionally capable of handling a child. Once Kin was born, they both realized that neither their own childhoods, nor the years of therapy and healing, had really prepared them for parenthood.

They read books and used apps and talked to their friends and therapists... and never seemed to find what they wanted – a way of raising kids that gave children a voice and protected them from the stress and drama of their own histories.

On a ferry boat ride to vacation on an island, Kin is antsy and noisy, kicking seats and making random sounds, throwing toys and crackers. Ari and Kai take turns:

"Honey, we don't kick chairs."

"Stop throwing your crackers."

"Please stop making weird noises."

Et cetera... with decreasing patience and increasing intensity and volume.

An older woman is seated nearby... she makes sympathetic eye contact with Ari and Kai in turn, then focuses on the toddler...

"Hi, sweetie... boat rides aren't much fun, hey?" The child reaches a hand toward the lady, offering a sweaty and slightly crushed cracker.

"Ew, hey, that's gross," says Ari

"You're offering to share your crackers..." the woman smiles at the parents... "That's generous. I will hold it for you if you'd like, but I'm not hungry." She stands up and takes the mucky cracker like it's golden trinket and holds it carefully on the palm of her hand. 

"This age is a challenge, isn't it?" Ari and Kai nod, and Ari starts talking...

"After all my therapy, you'd think I'd know how to handle such intense frustration. I feel crazier now than I did at 20 when I realized how much I needed professional help."

The lady played peek-a-boo with Kin.

"Me, too," added Kai, "I'm so impatient and my anger is frightening. I was this angry at the foster system when I left, and that took years to handle. I thought I was ready to parent. Now I feel like a fraud and a failure."

"I remember that --life isn't very kind to children and it can be surprising to find ourselves so filled with resentment we've long ago forgotten... just when we most need to live up to that childhood vow..." 

Both Ari and Kai stared at her. One of them mumbled quietly, "how did you know?" The lady smiled knowingly and turned back to the child, "I saved your cracker for you..." and held it reverently within reach.

"Oh, it's always easy to spot the adults who were kids who made that promise to themselves... it's how hard they try and how much they care." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a deck of playing cards...

"Here... these are more fun than you'd expect. Don't worry about them getting wrecked, I have more," and passed the box to the child, opening the lid slowly to demonstrate how, and closing it again slowly, then letting go. She walked away to amble around the deck outside. 

Kai and Ari watched, amazed, as the box of cards fascinated Kin for half an hour...

Later that day...

The ferry had docked, and Ari and Kai gathered up all their stuff to leave and started walking. Kin stood frozen and started to cry. They kept calling back,

"Come on, we have to go," and,

"I know you want to stay and play but we have to leave," and,

"Just come on!" Again, their patience ravelled and tempers grew.

The woman came through the lounge area as they were just starting to shout at Kin, and Kin's face turned to panic.

She walked up beside Kin and said, "Can I help you get to them?" holding out a hand. Kin sighed a sob of relief and took the lady's hand and walked with her to her parents.

"Can I help you carry anything?"

"No, it's okay, we just can't carry Kin, too."

"Oh, is your name Kin? Hi, I'm Linda," she said to Kin, then said, "I can walk Kin with you if you'd like... You know that they don't learn to follow a moving target at the same time they learned to walk, right?"

Ari and Kai stared at her again, and looked at each other, sheepishly, "no... no, we didn't know that..."

Kai looked into space... "I remember being little, getting yelled at and unable to move at all --I wanted to go with them but I couldn't make my body move. I remember I got spanked and called stubborn." Face pale and eyes wide, Kai continued, "They told me I was bad."

Linda watched Kai's face for a moment, then said, "Yes, it's amazing how litttle most people know about child development, considering that we've all been children. You have a long memory."

"I wish I didn't."

"It will make you a better parent, if you let it... Oh! Is this your ride?" Linda bend down to Kin's level and said, "It's been very nice meeting you. I will remember you. Enjoy your cards."

She stood up and waved at them as they drove away, then walked across the parking lot.

About a decade later...

Ari, Kai, and Kin are in a restaurant. Kin is staring at a phone, poking the screen from time to time. Ari is complaining to Kai about 'kids these days' not having any appreciation for what they have, and is getting louder as the list of what Kin does or doesn't do that should or shouldn't be done.

Kin very quietly says, "I'm playing a game, I'm not deaf."

Ari blushes and becomes visibly angrier as Kai says, "You need to learn some respect," and leans over to pull Kin's phone away, when Kai sees an older woman come up behind Kin's chair. Kai freezes in recognition...

"Kin?" she says, and Kin looks around as she moves beside the table and into view... "Hi, what are you playing?"

"Just a dumb game..." Linda peeps over the phone to see, and says, "Oh, hey, I play that! My team is Canada Maple, are you on a team?"

"Not yet..."

"Well, if you join, I'll give you life every time I play..."

"Cool... Canada Maple..."

Linda looked at Ari and Kai and said, "It is hard to remember what it was like to be that age, hey?" Kai looked sheepishly at the table, Ari looked at Linda in amazement. 

"I heard you say respect.. was that what you would mean to say?"

Kai blushed and mumbled at the table, "no, I guess not."

"What were you into at that age that was 'dumb kids'? It was roller skates, for me..."

"Ha! Inline skates!" Kai looked relieved and nostalgic.

"It was pokemon cards, for me... and Tamagochi!" added Ari.

"Oh, wow! Tamagochi... somehow nothing like real pet poop. Did you kill yours?"

"So many times!!" 

They all laughed, except Kin who just looked confused. Linda said, "an old cheap electronic toy you had to babysit all day every day or it would die of starvation or too much poop in its cage... very silly."

"Wow, you guys were weirdos," Kin said, looking at the parents in a new light.

"Yeah, I guess we really were. I never fit in, even when I had all the fads," Ari mused.

"I never had any of the fads, except my rollerblades that some brat in a foster home sold to someone for money to buy beer. I didn't even get any of the beer." Kai's face darkened.

"Dark memories, hey? It's hard being a young teen without anyone who understands what you're going through, isn't it?" Linda looked up and added, "oh, there's my dinner date... enjoy your meals!"

"I think it will taste a lot better than we expected..." Ari said as Linda walked to greet her companion...