The three Emma's...

There's the Emma sitting on my bookshelf that I can't bring myself to read, despite asking for her. The Original Emma, who is so grown up and beautiful and wonderful she takes my breath away. And there is new Emma, hardly formed, yet very charismatic and totally stealing my heart day by day.

Jane Austen's Emma I wanted because I have watched both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility so Emma seemed the appropriate way to go when introducing myself to her writing. A story I don't know. So don't spoil it. Yet, when I read the back of the book I can't quite bring myself to open it and start.

Then there is original Emma. She's the one in the second picture. I met her when she was two months old. And look at her now! She makes me feel very old but also very proud. I looked after her. I answered her questions. Not all of them, she answered all mine regarding maths and smart things. I answered hers on life and school and boys. I have few memories of Emma as a baby, I was eight or nine when I met her. I can't do the maths but she can. So my experiences with Emma were not dissected or thought about. She was fun. I liked babies. She was a baby I was allowed to play with and hold. But I remember her as a child. She was thoughtful, quiet, calm. Not in a shy way. In a studious way. For fun she would sit next to me on the sofa and get me to give her two ridiculously large numbers so she could multiply or divide them or some other equation I cannot even remember and I would check the answers on a calculator and she was ALWAYS right. And she and I would sit on the sofa as I tried to answer her questions and marvelled at her maths as her brother and sister rolled about the floor in an energetic mass of childishness. Emma was the first child I ever looked after and she was the oldest of three. Aimee and Matthew who followed her where boistorous and energetic. They entertained themselves as most children do, with rough and tumble and imaginary games. And I love all three of them immensely. But I know Emma more. Maybe it was the fact we were closer in age or maybe it is the simple fact that she was the first baby I knew. But I look at new Emma, the baby I look after now and I see a lot of original Emma. Even though I don't remember original Emma at new Emma's age. It's how I imagine she must have been, to a large degree. Not exactly.

New Emma is a thinker. And she wants to learn. And she wants to learn right now. She studies everything. And she really stares at people. It's disconcerting until you get to know her and establish it is a character trait and in fact a great one. She thinks everything through. Carefully. And she studies people and movements and then uses them herself. Where she can. And gets frustrated when she can't. And she cannot understand how you can be in the room with her and not giving her attention. And she's learnt how to demand attention when you're not in the room. And she is very sensitive. And her whole face lights up when she smiles. And every day she has a new noise. And she loves to speak and when you give her her bottle you have to look away and ignore her else she will stop feeding and start talking to you. And she is utterly adorable and she has one hundred percent stolen my heart. Just like original Emma did.

Jane's Emma has quite a lot to live up to...

I have some great photo's of new Emma showing her characteristic stare but without permission i felt it best to keep her anonymous. It's horrible we live in a world like this but we do. I am not sure I should even be describing her on here but as she remains anonymous I hope it's okay. I didn't ask original Emma's permission to use the photo above but I'm pretty sure she won't mind...i'm posting the blog on her facebook page anyway.