Jason is gone. My man. My handsome love. My favorite friend. He is in Ecuador for a week translating for a friend who is visiting an orphanage and a dingy prison. He'll be back, and soon, but in the meantime Luka and I are left to hold down the fort. This means I have to run the internet café all by my lonesome self...and that I have a babysitter, because the one day I tried working without one, I spent 89% of the time running after Luka...who was always headed to the road. Where cars fly by. Not exactly the best setting for friendly customer service is it? So a while back Jason and I decided that if it was ever a one man show at the café, Luka would have a sitter. I devised a plan. I have a friend (you know who you are Ellen) who once laughed at my "Oh Luka will nap while I work" theories saying that I was forever the ultimate optimist and that it would probably never go the way I dreamed it would go. She was somewhat right then. But not at all right this time. Hah! The plan was that I would go early to the cafe, put Luka down for a nap in the upstairs apartment in his pack-n-play, and that he would sleep through the whole morning shift. Then I would do the usual "Closed for Lunch" so that we could go home to eat, drop him off at the sitters, where he would be a perfect angel and not cry when I left him, and then pick up a happy, fed, sleepy baby in the evening. Not only have I described my strategy, I described reality. I have prayed and asked God to bless me in this, and He has! Everything has worked like clockwork every day so far (yeah, come back tomorrow where you will most likely see the words "never mind today was awful") and Luka really has been an angel. He sleeps through the entire morning shift....and blah blah blah.....
So what is a Wee bit Inappropriate about all this, you may ask? Sorry I have taken so long to get to it. I get a wee bit distracted, apparently. What I am trying to get to is that the other day when I was changing a rather stinky diaper of Luka's he looked solemnly up at me, raised his eyebrows and whispered...."Caca." Excuse me, little Wee?!?! Say what? No. I mean, don't say it again. But where have you gotten this word from? Certainly not your Momma. Jason do you say "caca" to Luka? No. Well maybe once, but not really. No, no, Wee one. Poo, poo. Not Ca Ca.
You may not think it's a big deal, but the country I come from, "caca" is the equivalent of "crap" and while I use the word crap occasionally in my adult life, I do not expect my 17 month old to include it in his current vocabulary of 5 whole words. The country I currently live in, I have observed, uses "caca" liberally with small children in any situation that might involve something dirty or germy. Picture it this way: Your baby reaches for food that is on the floor. You say, "No! Crap! It's crap!" Your baby picks up a muddy ball, you yell, "That's crap! Let go of it!" Doesn't sound very appropriate, does it? Not to me, anyway. I prefer, "Eww, that's gross, baby. Put it down." And he usually obliges. Welllll. He's been at the sitters, right? Where there are other children. Ok? So?....They say "caca" to him. All. Day. Long. Because there are germs and mud everywhere. Now Luka says "caca." All. Day. Long. Well crap. Ew gross.
There are no bath tubs to be had in houses here, so a mini pool in the shower its is!
Happy to be clean. This Wee One loves bath-splash-time.
Whatcha think of my new molar, huh?
5 comments:
Oh! the things kids pick up just when you think you have them under your control. THEN crap! Caca! And your whole protection scheme goes down the toilet! ;>}
Love, Papo
Luka, be careful what you say, Son. Soap doesn't taste very good.
Ha! That's hilarious. Reminds me of a time when I was in Chile, and a friend of mine was staying with a family, whose cat pooed in the shower she was using at the time. The mother thought it hilarious, and kept saying in broken English, "George caca'ed in the showerrr!" Since the word has no meaning for us, we were quite entertained by it. :)
So, are you speaking both English y Espanol en su casa asi que Luke pueda aprender los dos? Enjoying the updates, as always!
Dad,
I remember your soap strategies! Not much fun, for me. But I will have you know this will not work with Luka. He actually loves to eat soap, and I have to constantly hide it from him when he is taking a bath. We go through soap a lot faster in this house now...and often find tiny teeth marks embedded in the bars...
Kir,
That cat story is awesome! Haha! In Chile the only normal way to say "poo" is "caca" and so it is not offensive there. But in Honduras, well, it means crap.
I laughed myself silly over this one (not a difficult feat)! Kate's little Tomtom is coming up with unexpected words, also.....no caca yet...but I'm expecting worse any time!
I'm enjoying your blog so much, Sarah, and not only your delightful musings, but also the responses of Deb and Doug. I have felt so disconnected from all of you for so long - this is a wonderful way to get back into the heart of your wonderful family. I love you, sweet thing.
Thanks Aunt Mellie! I love you too. I really enjoy reading your blog as well, even though I don't always comment. The people that leave you comments are so witty that I feel intimidated. "Ha ha. I love it!" just doesn't quite compare to their well thought out responses. Hehe. But you are a great writer! I'm a fan. = ]
It helps me get to know you better as well, and fills me with an even bigger wish that we had been able to spend more time with you all while we grew up. It's a crying shame...
Post a Comment