The Zayde Chronicles

Five thousand years from now, a researcher of ancient manuscripts will be perusing the stacks of the Beinecke Library at Yale University and will uncover a frail yellowed document with simple, yet indecipherable pictograms. An expert in ancient English, he will struggle to read the words, seemingly meaningless; “ Ikea, SNIGLAR Crib” . He will spend months, perhaps years, searching in vain to fathom its meaning.  Carbon dating will be used to identify its origins.  Engineers will gather from across the globe seeking to ponder its purpose.   Religious scholars will determine that it is a relic of an ancient cult – perhaps sacred instructions to build a tabernacle to be carried by a nomadic people as they wandered through the desert.   Of course, we do not have to wait five thousand years for people to be mystified by Ikea instructions.  In households around the world, recent college graduates, young couples, husbands and wives and new parents are arguing and hurling expletives along

As parents, the miracle of a child’s development seemed to pass us by like scenery through the window of a speeding train.  We spent our days, feeding, bathing, diaper changing and coaxing into bed and suddenly, and without warning, our children were transformed from tiny, helpless infants into small encapsulations of humanity who talk a mile a minute, endlessly play peek a boo and get lost in books.  One day they are in diapers and the next they are in college. Conversely, as grandparents, we have the best seats in the house from which to watch and marvel at the miracle of a child’s development. Each day, Jo and I observe this miracle through the lens of Facetime.  One day, Bina scoots across the floor on all fours.  The next, she is taking tentative first steps.  In a seeming blink of an eye, she is toddling about, bent on exploring the world.  One day she utters a tentative “hi” – perhaps the first word she shared with us. Within weeks, she is naming all of her animals, saying