The scene: J.'s backyard, during his going-away party. Gaby, Shannon, Ernie and I are sitting lined up in a row, and Gaby (age 4 1/2) is dishing on the latest from school.
Gaby: Bobby is my boyfriend. I am his girlfriend. I love him best and he loves me best.
[a few minutes later]
Shannon: Tell us what happened in school.
Gaby: Well, Bobby and I were playing kitty. And then he didn't want to play kitty no more, but I really wanted him to play kitty. I tried everything. I tried giving him a sticker. Didn't work. I tried giving him a hug. Didn't work. I tried telling him the truth. Didn't work. I tried everything! Didn't work. Then Nathan came and he didn't want to play kitty either. Bobby wanted to play Dragonball [I thought she was saying "Dragon Mom," which sounds better] and I did not want to play that. Nathan wanted to play ice cream store and I did not want to play that. It was very hard.
[some sort of tangent about heart-shaped leaves]
Me: So what happened with Nathan and Bobby?
Gaby: We played kitty.
And... scene.
How great is that. I love that kid so, so much, and I really needed some nice distraction from answering the 43rd person who asked me why I wasn't moving to Ith*ca with J. I am so not who I want to be in this situation... I want to be cool and calm and collected. Or, I'd settle for brittle and funny. (At various points during the day, Shannon and Alissa and I came up with quite a few good suggestions for what I COULD say, such as “I wanted to go to Ith*ca, but J says he needs me here to continue prostituting myself, to pay for his Ph.D.” Better, right?)
Anyway. Am not calm, cool or collected. Although I never really am any of those things, so I guess it's unreasonable to expect myself to be them now, under duress. Damn it. I need a sticker.
4 comments:
You know what I would say to nosy people? Blunt honesty.
Nosy person: Why aren't you moving to Ith*ca with J?
You: That's a very painful question, one I grapple with often. Thanks for bringing it up!
Last week, I overheard a woman take that approach to someone who pestered her about her weight loss. The nosy woman said, "How do you STAY so thin? I would kill to look like you." The thin woman tried to evade it, but the nosy woman persisted, asking about dieting blah blah blah.
Finally,
Thin Woman: I have an eating disorder. I'm going to throw everything up later. I hate myself for it.
Shut that other lady right up. Stopped that line of questioning RIGHT there.
Sigh... You're handling this well, G. You really are. Some days you'll be cool, calm and collected; some days you won't. It's okay to not be okay some of the time.
You want me to come play kitty? Would that make it better? We can play ice cream store or Dragon Mom [sic] if you'd rather. :) Mwah.
Ditto everything Angie said, except I love to also make up random, unrealistic answers to questions that are no one's business. (because it lets them know I am irritated, without having to come right out and say it)
You can come play kitty with Gabs any time. And also admire our two perfect blue robin eggs.
So... how is this "kitty game" played?
I like the new look. now post, monkey, post!
Post a Comment