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Monday
Apr262010
Things I didn't realize I'd have to teach them
April 26, 2010
Two years is a long time:
YaYa: "Grandma, what does that thing do?" (Over the loud noise of the vacuum.)
My mom: "It vacuums."
YaYa: "What's vacuums?"
My mom: "It sucks up the dirt."
YaYa: (Running into the next room to continue her conversation with Kid A.) "Kid A! Kid A! It sucks up the dirt! It sucks up the dirt!)
They then followed my mom from room to room, pointing as small things disappeared into the vacuum cleaner.
*
YaYa to me: "Mom! There wasn't any trash can in the bathroom, so I had to throw my toilet paper in the toilet!"
Me: "You're supposed to do that every time here, honey."
YaYa: "REALLY? What? WHY?"
*
"No, you don't suck the water out of the water fountain. You just sort of hover over it, and let the water flow into your mouth."
(Next child)
"No! Stop putting your mouth on the spigot! Just let the water go in."
(Time passes)
"Yeah... but you have to swallow it as it goes in, not just let it flow back out..."
*
Leafy: "Mama! What are you putting THAT in the cereal for?"
Me: (Staring blankly at the gallon milk jug for a moment.) "This is milk, Leafy."
Leafy: "That's milk? Ha ha hahahahahaha!" (Lot's of laughing ensues- our milk comes in 500 ml bags.)
*
Leafy: "What are you doing to the dishes?"
Me: "This is a dishwasher. It's a machine. I'm turning it on to wash the dishes."
Leafy: "What? A machine washes dishes? Ha hahahaha hahahahaha!"
*
Lady at the crosswalk, kindly, to YaYa: "Do you want to push the button, sweetie?"
YaYa: "Button? What button?"
Me: "This button. It lets us walk across."
YaYa: "It lets us walk? What do you mean?"
Me: "Oh, if you push it it the man light will come on... (crowd forming at the corner) Listen, just put your finger here and push."
Lady at the crosswalk, darting glances at us: "..."
*
Countless questions:
Why do you mix that juice with water? (It's concentrate.)
What are these plates made of? (They're ceramic.)
What's that thing under the stove? (An oven.)
*
And Kid A: "I was pretty sure we'd never find our way out of that store." (It was a Value Village. Here's hoping he never sees the inside of a Walmart.)
*
As for me, I'm doing pretty good. Trying to make some decisions, which is never easy for me. And yesterday and today I drove my mom's car, driving for the first time since we got here. It's been mostly okay, considering that I'm switching back to the other side of the road. Strangely enough, the hardest part has been the turning signals. I'm constantly turning the windshield wipers on or signaling the wrong direction. But I'm getting there.
Chinua and I went on a date last night, and the kids had a blast with their grandparents. We had a good time too, eating sushi. Need I say more? SUSHI! Oh I love it.
YaYa: "Grandma, what does that thing do?" (Over the loud noise of the vacuum.)
My mom: "It vacuums."
YaYa: "What's vacuums?"
My mom: "It sucks up the dirt."
YaYa: (Running into the next room to continue her conversation with Kid A.) "Kid A! Kid A! It sucks up the dirt! It sucks up the dirt!)
They then followed my mom from room to room, pointing as small things disappeared into the vacuum cleaner.
*
YaYa to me: "Mom! There wasn't any trash can in the bathroom, so I had to throw my toilet paper in the toilet!"
Me: "You're supposed to do that every time here, honey."
YaYa: "REALLY? What? WHY?"
*
"No, you don't suck the water out of the water fountain. You just sort of hover over it, and let the water flow into your mouth."
(Next child)
"No! Stop putting your mouth on the spigot! Just let the water go in."
(Time passes)
"Yeah... but you have to swallow it as it goes in, not just let it flow back out..."
*
Leafy: "Mama! What are you putting THAT in the cereal for?"
Me: (Staring blankly at the gallon milk jug for a moment.) "This is milk, Leafy."
Leafy: "That's milk? Ha ha hahahahahaha!" (Lot's of laughing ensues- our milk comes in 500 ml bags.)
*
Leafy: "What are you doing to the dishes?"
Me: "This is a dishwasher. It's a machine. I'm turning it on to wash the dishes."
Leafy: "What? A machine washes dishes? Ha hahahaha hahahahaha!"
*
Lady at the crosswalk, kindly, to YaYa: "Do you want to push the button, sweetie?"
YaYa: "Button? What button?"
Me: "This button. It lets us walk across."
YaYa: "It lets us walk? What do you mean?"
Me: "Oh, if you push it it the man light will come on... (crowd forming at the corner) Listen, just put your finger here and push."
Lady at the crosswalk, darting glances at us: "..."
*
Countless questions:
Why do you mix that juice with water? (It's concentrate.)
What are these plates made of? (They're ceramic.)
What's that thing under the stove? (An oven.)
*
And Kid A: "I was pretty sure we'd never find our way out of that store." (It was a Value Village. Here's hoping he never sees the inside of a Walmart.)
*
As for me, I'm doing pretty good. Trying to make some decisions, which is never easy for me. And yesterday and today I drove my mom's car, driving for the first time since we got here. It's been mostly okay, considering that I'm switching back to the other side of the road. Strangely enough, the hardest part has been the turning signals. I'm constantly turning the windshield wipers on or signaling the wrong direction. But I'm getting there.
Chinua and I went on a date last night, and the kids had a blast with their grandparents. We had a good time too, eating sushi. Need I say more? SUSHI! Oh I love it.
Reader Comments (11)
Thank you for sharing all these little moments. How fun and interesting to be able to share so much new stuff with them...happy for the date, and happiest for the 'sushi' baby!!! woohoo!
And I bet there are saucepans with handles!! When my husband went to university he was really surprised about the whole saucepan handles thing!!
Oh yes!! I remember our kids freaking out over an escalator. Up and down, up and down they went...which would have been okay, but they were a little old to be that entranced.
I also had to introduce a vacuum, a clothes dryer, a dishwasher (Elliot: You mean I don't have to do dishes????!!!), and how to flush an American toilet. I myself had forgotten dishwashers existed after 3 years. We landed at my in-laws while they were out of town, and 3 days later my mother-in-law came back and said "Why are you washing dishes by hand?" Umm...
.-= edj´s last blog ..http://planetnomad.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/more-meknes/" rel="nofollow">More Meknes =-.
I bet it must be overwhelming for them. Sushi, YUM (I don't have it here either)
Ok, I can understand why leafy wouldn't remember, but i am a bit surprised that Kid A and Ya Ya didn't remember. Makes me think a bit more about memory and perceptions. So funny Rae. Can't wait to share it with M.
It's a whole new world! How cool to relearn it all over again with them, though.
.-= green girl in Wisconsin´s last blog ..http://melissawestemeier.blogspot.com/2010/04/back-in-saddle-again.html" rel="nofollow">back in the saddle again =-.
I love sushi, too! So interesting to hear about your kids relearning things about living in North America again. Are you planning on staying or going back to India? Anyway, if you happen to be in Chilliwack, you know how to get a hold of me:o) Glad you are having such a great time!!!
Kid A remembers a lot. And he was showing the vacuum cleaner to YaYa with a kind of brotherly-I'm-an-old-school-player-at-this-North-America-game wisdom. Sometimes he remembers things in a skewed way, which is pretty cute. Leafy remembers nothing. YaYa has a fuzzy picture of a few things.
Taegen, we're heading back to India at the end of the summer...
How fun - I love seeing things through the eyes of children. It reminds me how blessed we are and how awe-some this world we live in is :)
.-= lagata´s last blog ..http://lagata-adayinthelife.blogspot.com/2010/04/post-it-tuesday_20.html" rel="nofollow">Post-it Tuesday =-.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing those cute moments! The things we take for granted....
Blessings,
Sandwich
I lovelovelove that your children don't know about vacuums and juice and milk. I'm pretty sure they are having the most memorable childhood any of us could imagine.
.-= blackbird´s last blog ..http://blackbird17.blogspot.com/2010/04/overheard-in-tuvalu_27.html" rel="nofollow">overheard in Tuvalu =-.