Penny is coming up on her 3rd birthday - june 9th - only a few weeks from now. And, although she is really very sweet and I love being her nanny, she has acquired this
awesome new habit of asking questions about everything. I know some of you are thinking that it is just her child-like wonder and that I should be happy that she is curious... But trust me - if you were the one standing in line behind a large balding man at Trader Joe's when Penny yelled out "Hey Emily, why doesn't that lady have any hair?" - you would be asking the same thing. Do 3 year olds ever stop asking questions? And yes, she is also having trouble mixing up "he" and "she"- which can add to the embarrassment.
I like to try to give her a quick answer when we're in public, but she just asks questions about my answer. Here are some examples of our recent conversations: (and remember that these are asked very loud and often in front of the person she is talking about)
Also at Trader Joe's:
Why does that lady have such a big bum? (Me: she doesn't Penny. She is really pretty)
Why is she really pretty? (Me trying to change the subject: She has flowers on her dress. Do you like flowers? Maybe we could pick some out)
Why should we pick some flowers out? (Me: we could put them in the vase at home)
Actually, I think it's time to go. (Me: I just have to get a few groceries before we go)
Why are you getting that? - (She said that about every thing I put in the cart until it finally was time to go.)
During our last visit to Target:
Why is that baby crying? (Me: I don't know. Maybe he's sad)
Why is he sad? (Me: Maybe he wants to take a nap)
Is the mommy being mean to him? (Me: I don't think so Penny. Sometimes babies are just sad)
Why do babies get sad? ................
During our last playdate with their next door neighbors:
Why is this house so messy? (Me: I think they just have a lot of toys they want to share with us)
Why do you think they don't have a toy box? (Me: They probably do. But we are here to play with Kate. Why don't you ask Kate what she wants to play with) ..............
To Kenneth last Friday during our lunch at Panera:
Why do you have a sandwich? (K: I like sandwiches and it's lunchtime)
Why is it lunchtime? (K: It's the middle of the day. Aren't you hungry for lunch?)
What's that? (said as she proceeded to touch every item in Kenneth's Lunch)
Why are you drinking your drink? (K: Because I'm thirsty)
Why are you thirsty? etc.. etc... etc...
The questioning continues as we read books as well. Every page.. every sentence.. Who's that? Why is he doing that? Where's this? I have a question? How long will it take before I am crazy?
Do you think she's EVER going to stop asking questions??
We have always had a very special relationship, ever since I was a little girl. And one of the hardest things about living in Boston is not being able to see him as much as I used to when we lived in Salt Lake.
For Kenneth and I Memorial day has always been an exciting holiday. With Kenneth's family we get together every year and decorate the graves of all of their closest family members and friends. We start at the City Cemetery in downtown Salt Lake City and work our way around the valley. The whole family comes - his parents, all of his brothers and sisters and their families. It is so great to get together and talk about the important people in our lives that have passed away.
It was also exciting because every year my grandparents would tell me the same awesome stories as we drove through town. We would check out the Lehi Roller Mills and they would point out the retirement home that used to be a dance hall and a roller skating rink. My grandpa would tell me again about working at the Kennecott mines and about walking all the way from Magna to the University of Utah when he went to college because he had a basketball scholarship. They would point out all the old homes in town that all of my relatives used to live in. And they would even tell me every year the same stories about my grandpa's mother who taught my dad how to play poker and who used to eat bacon every day. One year we even stopped to visit one of the really old relatives from Lehi.. This adorable old lady named Gertrude who had lots of stories about my dad as a little boy (that may or may not have been true).
Now that Kenneth and I live in Boston we miss these traditions. There aren't really any graves for us to decorate here. I guess we could go downtown to Paul Revere's grave - or maybe Samuel Adams. But it's not really the same thing... So, we were really excited when Kenneth's brother Steven told us that he has been doing some family history and was hoping that we could visit some old burial grounds and take pictures of the grave stones from some of Kenneth's ancestors that lived here in the 1700's. It was so great! It was like a little adventure.. We had to hike through the hills to find an overgrown cemetery in the middle of the woods, and it took us several tries to actually get there.. but when we did it was so worth it. We also found a little burial ground for the first settlers in Newbury, MA - which was where some of Kenneth's other relatives where buried. Here are some pictures of our adventure:
For those of you who don't recognize this cute little boy.. This is SAM!!! (the little boy I used to nanny for). I haven't seen him since his family moved to Duxbury last September. And although I am totally happy in my new job, I love Sam so much and I totally miss him. I am so glad that I got to see him - and he recognized me! My ultimate fear has always been that even though I worked with him for a whole year, that now that he is with his new nanny and his family is in a new house that he would forget me. But he knew who I was and I got to talk and play with him for awhile. Of course I cried for like an hour after seeing him, but I am still glad I got to see him. He even remembered playing with Indiana and Paul and picking strawberries last summer:
Aren't they adorable? Here's hoping that someday I actually get to have a little boy to keep.
