Same planet, different worlds
Posted: September 14th, 2009 | Author: Dave | Filed under: Coping | Tags: daddy blog, Fatherhood, kids, parenting, parents | No Comments »
I like to think that I have a handle on the 3-year-old language. “Doesn’t your three-year-old speak English?” you ask. Well yes, but she uses the toddler dialect. Here’s an example.
Earlier today, we were at the grocery store picking up diapers and milk. On the way home, Grace announced that she wants to play with “…that toy” when we got home. “Which toy is that?” I ask her. “That toy you put on your knee,” she answered.
My mind set to work on the problem. “Grace,” I said, “What is the toy that you put on your knee?” “You know that toy,” she said, laughing dismissively at what must have been a joke.
“Oh, no, I sure don’t,” I thought.
Once we got back home and I had put the groceries away, she repeated her request. I told her that I’d help her look, hoping that she’d lead me to some sort of clue. Soon we were searching the house for something that she couldn’t describe and I couldn’t imagine. I felt like Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code (minus the priceless art and exotic locales). The pursuit ended with her in disappointed tears and me in annoyed confusion.
Hours later, with the whole business forgotten, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Here it is!” She came marching towards me with her thin arms thrust forward and her tiny fists clenching … Band-Aids.
Band-Aids are “…that toy you put on your knee.” Now you know. Grace and I live on the same planet, but different worlds.
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