We returned eight year old Little M has home as of Monday afternoon. We took her out and did heaps of stuffs. It is not good that she spent hours of screen time on her tablet in our spare room but her screen did make her visit easier. Sunday night we took her for dinner to the Elsternwick Hotel, or as we said, the pub. The questions never stopped. "You stay in a hotel and you have food and drinks in a pub. Why are they the same thing?". The questions just go on and on. It is mentally exhausting.
I sent her mother this when we returned home.
M: That combined shampoo conditioner was not good but the conditioner we used tonight meant my hair wasn't tangled. (After swims in the pool)
Me: Yes, you know how Jo's hair is curly. We used to buy No More Tangles for her hair. My hair is curly if it is long. M: But you don't have much hair. Why? Me: Because I am old and some men lose their hair when they are old. Even some men lose their hair when young, like N. M: Who is N? Me: N and B, you know. M: B has a new baby. How old to you have to be to have to be to have a baby? Me: Maybe 14.M: How can I not have a baby when I am young?
Me: You should ask your Mum and Dad.
M: I tell you everything about me. Why can't you tell me.
Me: It is complicated and very personal.
M: It would be so easy for you to tell me.
Me: No, it's a personal conversation you need to have with your mother and father.
We were trying not to laugh and somewhat relieved to be asked the next question, "What does that yellow sign on your carpark gate mean?"
I tell you what (Oldest Niece), if she remembers half of the answers to her many questions, M will be very learned about many things.
Next weekend we have the Saturday night company of the twin boys who will stay overnight along with their grandmother, Ex Sis in Law. R can look after one baby but not two on his own. I don't do hands on but I am good at behind the front stuffs. The boys aren't up to talking yet, so no questions.
I think you handled that delicate (and no doubt persistent) question well. Good luck next weekend. And yes, the behind the scene things are important too.
ReplyDeleteEC, I was tempted to tell her the nun's advice, don't get pregnant by talking to boys through a cyclone wire fence.
DeleteTalking to boys without that cyclone wire fence could be more problematic.
DeleteThis is an inquisitive mind
ReplyDeleteYes Roentare, and not a bad thing.
DeleteOh my goodness. The questions! My little Iris listens intently and then she says, 'Weellllllll...' in a long considering way, and mentally you brace yourself because what comes next is a virtual flood of questions, one right after another.
ReplyDeleteWeellll, so funny Debby. Maybe we should tell them to google it.
DeleteLOL. So funny and so typical. You two are great uncles.
ReplyDeleteWe are great uncles Sandra, and all respect us as they keep in mind a possible inheritance.
DeleteDoesn't Siri take care of kids endless questions? She/he/it should. That sounds tiring but sure is cute the way you describe your conversations.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, brilliant. That is what I will tell them next time, in our case Hey Google.
DeleteI hope she doesn't go telling people she is going to have a baby when she turns 14!
ReplyDeleteWe were just talking about the Elsternwick pub. We used to go there in the 70s. They were great nights and there were two amazing blokes who would Russian dance to Rasputin. If anyone else tried to get on the floor when the song started the regulars would tell them no. Ah, the good old days. And then we would drive home using the centre of the three tram tracks to guide us!
Caro, Russian dancing to Rasputin sounds fabulous. What great fun the 'Wick must have been. It has taken the pub a long time to recover from lockdowns but it was busy enough. Lol at being guided by tram tracks. It is a no go area now.
DeleteI was quite a chatty child too. Lucky for me I was the baby and I got to live vicariously through my sister and brothers kids.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised the young Maribeth was chatty. Some children have no siblings like Jo doesn't, nor Mother. It is a loss for them.
DeleteNew borns are all poop, drinking and screaming, without much pleasure for the new parents. 17 year olds can be rude, self centred and deaf to their parents. Only in the interim years, as your niece has shown, are children interested and interesting.
ReplyDeleteHels, exactly right although I would pull back the teenage years to 12.
DeleteYes, I noticed mine were quite adult and companionable by 17. and they didn't scream as babies either.
DeleteYes a lot of questions, but I must say one does get a laugh or two at times with little ones.
ReplyDeleteAs we do Margaret, I am sure you do with yours.
DeleteI was late talker, and so was my son and my third granddaughter.
ReplyDeleteIt look like my granddaughter and I are quite chatty.
Coffee on stay safe
Dora, is your granddaughter very much like you. Oh dear, lol.
DeleteKids do ask a lot of questions. I remember being raised to just do as told and not ask questions, which in turn made it awkward for me to talk to my own kids. one wonders how I learned anything. kids are better off when they are allowed to ask anything and get proper answers.
ReplyDeleteRiver, I believe in honest answers for children but you have to couch what you say to their age. You not being able to talk to your own children without awkwardness Isn't great but perhaps not unusual back then. I can't remember childhood conversations with my mother.
DeleteMy granddaughter is the same age and her mother has answeredthe inevitable questions as they have cropped up. She is very interested in childbirth and will often ask other mothers about their experiences in great detail!
ReplyDeleteAs I well remember Marie. Maybe I am wrong, but with your Em and our M asking such questions??? The world is moving on fast.
DeleteI never could make up my mind which was ‘worse’…..the continuous WHY from a 2/3yr old or the continuous but sensible questions from a slightly older child. You both have such patience with your little relatives…many fathers, uncles & gt uncles just say - go ask your mother!
ReplyDeleteCathy, I hope by answering their questions as best we can and treating them well (I respond a bit over the top for their education and word level), they will remember us well after we are gone.
DeleteBefore the twin boys turn up, I suggest that Uncle Andrew looks at a few YouTube guidance videos about changing nappies. It's important to keep their private areas clean - especially after stinky poop explosions. You may also need a clothes peg for your snout.
ReplyDeleteYP, not my department beyond carrying out a sealed bag to the bin chute. But thanks for your concern and advice. Fire Fighting Nephew's wife, aka The General, will arrive with a list of caring duties. She probably doesn't know we changed her husband's nappies when he was a baby.
DeleteI laughed at that conversation. Maybe M's parents are avoiding the topic too and she's getting frustrated at not getting any answers!
ReplyDeleteSteve, if her mother's family history is anything to go by, she will find out for herself soon enough.
DeleteFun times!
ReplyDeleteME, always walking a fine line.
DeleteWell done you on this massive fielding of the Big Question. I know those questions can be crazy making, on and on and on. I know I was that kind of child too. It was my father's job to deal with me and looking back, i am surprised at his patience.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
M, I had a bit of curiosity at about the same age and received an answer to my question from my uncle, that I misunderstood. You have good memories of your father. Take some time to write about him.
DeleteYour tolerance and patience are astounding. ~nods~ Be well!
ReplyDeleteDarla so people keep telling us. It is hard work but we do enjoy their company.
Delete