Rules

Maggie: I’m just too tired to put my puzzles away….Can I help with making pancakes?
Daddy: If you’re too tired for puzzles, you’re too tired for helping with pancakes.
Maggie: But I’m just so so so tired for puzzles, Daddy.
Daddy: If you’re too tired to put your things away, you’re too tired to help me.
Maggie: But see, I have different rules than you guys do!

What our Children Know About Us

We recently came across these interview questions on Facebook. Seemed like a fun thing to do. We first three interviews in January, but Maggie wasn’t interested in answering the daddy questions back then. She grudgingly agreed to give it a go during spring break, on March 23.

Mama
Daddy
Griffin Maggie Griffin Maggie
What is something I always say to you? Stop. Clean up. When I say, “Do you want to play a game,” you say, “Yeah, sure.” I don’t know.
What makes me happy?
When I do stuff for you. Clean up. When I play with you. Saying, “Please can you play with me?”
What makes me sad? When I mess up the house. When I accidentally break something. When I mess up the house. When me and Griffin do bad things. Like break glass.
How do I make you laugh? By tickling me! We sing silly things! By tickling me! By saying funny things.
What was I like as a child? Mischief! I don’t know! You didn’t have a CD player. Shrug.
How old am I? 39 I don’t know. 44 I forgot. Twenty? No. Not twenty. Twenty-four? No. Are you twenty-four?
How tall am I? I don’t know! REALLY tall! I didn’t measure you. I’m guessing it might be like four feet, maybe, no… five feet. Super tall!
What is my favorite thing to do? Play with me! Watch TV! Play with me. Play!
What do I do when you’re not around?
Go to the store.
Work.
Go to school.
Do computer work.
What am I really good at? Typing on the computer. Clean up with me.
Making pannakukken.
Shrug.
What is something I’m not good at? Going under your bed.
Not cleaning up.
Reading Chinese.
I don’t know.
What do I do for a job? Take care of Maggie. Something. Go to work.
To clean up dinner. To clean up the dishes.
What is my favorite food?
Cheese kabook… what is that thing? You know that thing that Grandma and Grandpa make with cheese or apples? [Strudel] I don’t know! Pannakukken. Sausage! Or raspberries.
What do you enjoy doing with me? Playing Mille Bornes! Playing! Playing Rat-A-Tat-Cat. Play! Frozen spot-it.

Future Career in Medicine

We have an old twin-sized futon—the ultra-basic variety with the unfinished pine base that folds, awkwardly, into a chair. Though it has been useful over the years, it doesn’t get a lot of love. In return, it has become increasingly lumpy and shabby looking. Sarah and I generally ignore it, keeping it around for rare times when we are brimming with house guests. The kids, however, see it as a multi-purpose device: trampoline, hurdle, and the floor, wall, or roof for their many ephemeral fort designs.

Said futon recently sprung a leak, spewing forth tiny bits of foam (the foam core is surrounded by a nimbus of smaller chunks, ergo the lumpiness). Sarah applied a duct tape bandage, but the kids regularly defeat this measure with a single good leap.

This morning, Sarah and I found the futon blocking the basement hallway with a spray of foam guts on the carpet. We asked the kids to clean up the mess, and reminded them that the poor futon is off limits until we come up with a hardier solution. Some time later, I returned to the basement and found that Griffin had filled an entire trash can with foam bits, vastly more than what we had seen on the carpet before. With sinking heart, I inquired as to what was going on. Griffin proudly said that he was making sure that no more would leak out again, at which point he reached into the growing wound and extracted another armload of foam.

As I groaned at the plight of the poor, eviscerated futon, Maggie squealed, “More, Griffin, MORE!”

Doctor of Internal Medicine
Doctor of Internal Medicine

Focus

It was almost bedtime last night and I urged Maggie to get out of the stroller so we could go inside. Unbeknownst to me, she was engaged in some sort of important task (zipping something, unzipping something, fixing a wrinkled sock, etc.) Maggie’s exasperated response:

“Daddy, you unfocused me!”

Maggie’s First Clay Sculpture

Sarah's Clay Head

Apparently this is me trying to lick a dolphin (for real). But seriously, I can’t say enough about our art classes at Art with Ellen! Ellen is an amazing teacher with attention to detail specific to the age group she’s working with. Maggie is a reluctant artist in the sense that she often feels like she’s “doing it wrong.” Ellen brings so much enthusiasm and positive guidance, Maggie has been flourishing. Thank you to Grummy for this gift of classes! We’ve both been thoroughly enjoying them.