Kids need Kids. Though they depend on us adults for most of the things, they thrive in the time spent with other kids. There are initial hiccups but if we just let them be (and not interfere with our notions of rules and behaviour) they finally settle into peaceful play. This extended Memorial day weekend Manav and Arnav settled down with Mitisha and Mallika, the adorable daughters of my best friend Mahasweta. When I write "best friend" it seems like school/college era and a bit foolish as well, maybe even embarrassing but she still is and will remain my best friend.
The evening they landed was a humdrum affair with the almost 2, almost 3, 4 and 8 year olds trying to mingle while the adults exchanged information over their heads. Next morning we set out for Galveston, touted to be a "poor-man's beach vacation place" (or maybe that's what I expected) but it turned out to be a perfect place for all of us. But we didn't know what awaited us as we were engrossed in the long drive with the kids flowing freely between the two cars, hence the multiple stops to accommodate seating preferences. Not to mention the drink breaks, bathroom breaks, food breaks and puke cleanup break. At last we reached the Galvestonian - our resort and that was the best part of the day.
Everyone just plunged into the pool having decided to hit the beach next day as it was already evening. Ouch, I just remembered that this is NOT a travelogue but conversations, so here I go.
"Misha, can you spell cosmopolitan?" I asked Misha to veer the current topic of who-gets-to-sit -next -to-Misha.
"What is cosmopolitan?" she asked and after some explanations and disclaimer that this wasn't 2nd grade stuff, she successfully attempted the spelling. And this started a new game. Manav and Arnav joined in
"Can you spell lamppost?" and got her confused regarding 1 or 2 'p's
"Can you spell sign? and the silent 'g' stumped her
and many other words until Arnav said
"Can you spell gaadi?"
"What IS gaadi?" she was stumped again
"Car" Manav explained
"I cannot spell foreign language words" was her reply and Caunteya I guess couldn't help but retort
"English is a foreign language"
and more spelling words were thrown at her by the boys until she said
"I am not spelling any more. This makes me feel like school and it is not pleasant. I am on a vacation" and didn't budge when the boys implored
"Last one please"
The kids had a great time on day 2 with sand castles, beach toys, wave riding and running around. On day 3 we went to Moody gardens. There they went berserk with the 4-D movie of Dora and Diego, loved the aquarium and chased the butterflies in the 100 degrees simulated heat of the newly opened rain forest pyramid. But the best part was again the "Palm Beach" inside the garden. They were practically tireless hopping from wave pool to water slides to lazy river to sprinkler parks to anything and everything water. It was constant happy laughter and lots of shrieking and yelling.
The evenings were spent dining at the great seafood restaurants lining the Seawall. We also visited Historic Strand and went on a horse carriage ride. Manav asked the driver
"How do you make the horse stop at the Stop signs?"
Ok back to some more car conversations. They were talking about doctors. Manav said
"Babies go to baby doctors. They give shots"
"I go to a pediatrician too" said Misha
"I go to Dr. Zarmin" said Arnav
"No, doctors are not mean just because they give shots." said Misha as Arnav's "Zarmin" did sound like "mean".
"It is Dr Guetersloh not Zarmin" Manav said
"I go to Dr. Zarmin" maintained Arnav
"No, doctors are not mean" maintained Misha.
and so they maintained the conversation .....
A couple of days ago ( I have been writing this post since the last few days, not getting done :-) I made gherkin fry which we call tindora in Hindi. Surprisingly Manav and Arnav loved it. Arnav said
"Can I have more Dora, please?"
"Yes, sure you can. It is tindora" Caunteya clarified
"Yes, T-T-T- Tin - Dora" Arnav attempted the phonics.
The blooms in the new house reminds me of our childhood home in Rourkela. Google led me to the name plumeria but I am still not convinced these are those. Same family though.
I started writing this post on 2nd June and it is already stale. Need to let go of this one and start afresh. New things happening all the time but time is what I don't have now. Too many things to do, some I love, some I like, some need to be done, some I hate and some I can't stand doing and some happen nevertheless.
As Manav said just now when I kissed him goodnight
"Mommy I will soon become an adult and I will let you die"
More on this seemingly alarming statement later. For now goodnight.
The evening they landed was a humdrum affair with the almost 2, almost 3, 4 and 8 year olds trying to mingle while the adults exchanged information over their heads. Next morning we set out for Galveston, touted to be a "poor-man's beach vacation place" (or maybe that's what I expected) but it turned out to be a perfect place for all of us. But we didn't know what awaited us as we were engrossed in the long drive with the kids flowing freely between the two cars, hence the multiple stops to accommodate seating preferences. Not to mention the drink breaks, bathroom breaks, food breaks and puke cleanup break. At last we reached the Galvestonian - our resort and that was the best part of the day.
Everyone just plunged into the pool having decided to hit the beach next day as it was already evening. Ouch, I just remembered that this is NOT a travelogue but conversations, so here I go.
"Misha, can you spell cosmopolitan?" I asked Misha to veer the current topic of who-gets-to-sit -next -to-Misha.
"What is cosmopolitan?" she asked and after some explanations and disclaimer that this wasn't 2nd grade stuff, she successfully attempted the spelling. And this started a new game. Manav and Arnav joined in
"Can you spell lamppost?" and got her confused regarding 1 or 2 'p's
"Can you spell sign? and the silent 'g' stumped her
and many other words until Arnav said
"Can you spell gaadi?"
"What IS gaadi?" she was stumped again
"Car" Manav explained
"I cannot spell foreign language words" was her reply and Caunteya I guess couldn't help but retort
"English is a foreign language"
and more spelling words were thrown at her by the boys until she said
"I am not spelling any more. This makes me feel like school and it is not pleasant. I am on a vacation" and didn't budge when the boys implored
"Last one please"
The family before hitting the beach
And then the sand castles
The kids had a great time on day 2 with sand castles, beach toys, wave riding and running around. On day 3 we went to Moody gardens. There they went berserk with the 4-D movie of Dora and Diego, loved the aquarium and chased the butterflies in the 100 degrees simulated heat of the newly opened rain forest pyramid. But the best part was again the "Palm Beach" inside the garden. They were practically tireless hopping from wave pool to water slides to lazy river to sprinkler parks to anything and everything water. It was constant happy laughter and lots of shrieking and yelling.
The evenings were spent dining at the great seafood restaurants lining the Seawall. We also visited Historic Strand and went on a horse carriage ride. Manav asked the driver
"How do you make the horse stop at the Stop signs?"
Ok back to some more car conversations. They were talking about doctors. Manav said
"Babies go to baby doctors. They give shots"
"I go to a pediatrician too" said Misha
"I go to Dr. Zarmin" said Arnav
"No, doctors are not mean just because they give shots." said Misha as Arnav's "Zarmin" did sound like "mean".
"It is Dr Guetersloh not Zarmin" Manav said
"I go to Dr. Zarmin" maintained Arnav
"No, doctors are not mean" maintained Misha.
and so they maintained the conversation .....
A couple of days ago ( I have been writing this post since the last few days, not getting done :-) I made gherkin fry which we call tindora in Hindi. Surprisingly Manav and Arnav loved it. Arnav said
"Can I have more Dora, please?"
"Yes, sure you can. It is tindora" Caunteya clarified
"Yes, T-T-T- Tin - Dora" Arnav attempted the phonics.
The blooms in the new house reminds me of our childhood home in Rourkela. Google led me to the name plumeria but I am still not convinced these are those. Same family though.
I started writing this post on 2nd June and it is already stale. Need to let go of this one and start afresh. New things happening all the time but time is what I don't have now. Too many things to do, some I love, some I like, some need to be done, some I hate and some I can't stand doing and some happen nevertheless.
As Manav said just now when I kissed him goodnight
"Mommy I will soon become an adult and I will let you die"
More on this seemingly alarming statement later. For now goodnight.
Ankhon ki roshini aur Budapeka sahara, Manav!!!!
ReplyDeleteha ha Sharoon.....hope that is true and I am impressed with ur Hindi :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat comeback post DJ .. some alarming statements though - like the last one from Manav .. and the "foreign language" one by Misha.. Already looking forward to the next one.. keep writing please!
ReplyDeleteDebjani di,
ReplyDeleteThe statement is alarming for us but not for them.
The other day Mehek Told me" Mamma I dont want to be BIG bcoz then u would die"
Another day I had stomach pain and she said"Mamma I hope u r not dying, I'm still very small you know.who will take care of me?"
These statements really surprises me but then when I read ur blog I see some connection in kids thought process.
Keep Writing.....I love reading
Sreemanti