Today my mother-in-law/Braydon’s mother sent to us this (below) New York Times editorial from yesterday. I thought I’d post this today as it speaks to something that Braydon and I talk a lot about: the reality that although we’re raising cute-verging-on-drop-dead-gorgeous, charismatic-charming-cheerful, bright-possibly-brilliant, Gap-HannaAndersson-Patagonia-Keen-wearing, Waldorf-educated, well-traveled, foodie-fun-loving black boys… they will grow up to be black men. And all that entails. This is something we’ve posted about in the past (for example, here), and something we talk about at home on a very regular basis. Cute little black boys do grow up to be black men. The question is not ‘what will happen in the future?’ so much as ‘how will we prepare them for it?’
THE NEW YORK TIMES
October 6, 2010
The Seat Not Taken
By JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN
AT least twice a week I ride Amtrak’s high-speed Acela train from my home in New York City to my teaching job in Providence, R.I. The route passes through a region of the country populated by, statistics tell us, a significant segment of its most educated, affluent, sophisticated and enlightened citizens.
Over the last four years, excluding summers, I have conducted a casual sociological experiment in which I am both participant and observer. It’s a survey I began not because I had some specific point to prove by gathering data to support it, but because I couldn’t avoid becoming aware of an obvious, disquieting truth.
Almost invariably, after I have hustled aboard early and occupied one half of a vacant double seat in the usually crowded quiet car, the empty place next to me will remain empty for the entire trip.
I’m a man of color, one of the few on the train and often the only one in the quiet car, and I’ve concluded that color explains a lot about my experience. Unless the car is nearly full, color will determine, even if it doesn’t exactly clarify, why 9 times out of 10 people will shun a free seat if it means sitting beside me.
Giving them and myself the benefit of the doubt, I can rule out excessive body odor or bad breath; a hateful, intimidating scowl; hip-hop clothing; or a hideous deformity as possible objections to my person. Considering also the cost of an Acela ticket, the fact that I display no visible indications of religious preference and, finally, the numerous external signs of middle-class membership I share with the majority of the passengers, color appears to be a sufficient reason for the behavior I have recorded.
Of course, I’m not registering a complaint about the privilege, conferred upon me by color, to enjoy the luxury of an extra seat to myself. I relish the opportunity to spread out, savor the privacy and quiet and work or gaze at the scenic New England woods and coast. It’s a particularly appealing perk if I compare the train to air travel or any other mode of transportation, besides walking or bicycling, for negotiating the mercilessly congested Northeast Corridor. Still, in the year 2010, with an African-descended, brown president in the White House and a nation confidently asserting its passage into a postracial era, it strikes me as odd to ride beside a vacant seat, just about every time I embark on a three-hour journey each way, from home to work and back.
I admit I look forward to the moment when other passengers, searching for a good seat, or any seat at all on the busiest days, stop anxiously prowling the quiet-car aisle, the moment when they have all settled elsewhere, including the ones who willfully blinded themselves to the open seat beside me or were unconvinced of its availability when they passed by. I savor that precise moment when the train sighs and begins to glide away from Penn or Providence Station, and I’m able to say to myself, with relative assurance, that the vacant place beside me is free, free at last, or at least free until the next station. I can relax, prop open my briefcase or rest papers, snacks or my arm in the unoccupied seat.
But the very pleasing moment of anticipation casts a shadow, because I can’t accept the bounty of an extra seat without remembering why it’s empty, without wondering if its emptiness isn’t something quite sad. And quite dangerous, also, if left unexamined. Posters in the train, the station, the subway warn: if you see something, say something.
John Edgar Wideman is a professor of Africana studies and literary arts at Brown and the author, most recently, of “Briefs.”
Note: I have no connection, whatsoever, to any of the companies which produce the products I rave about here. They have no idea who I am and I receive nothing from them.
Well, now that it is officially fall (we’ve had our first cold snap these past few days), I feel compelled to rave about some new hair and skin products that we’ve been using here at the J-M homestead. We’re lucky to live in a climate where at least in the summertime it is humid enough that we get one season “off,” but for the other three seasons, we’ve got to stay on top of it. I’m sure we’re not alone in this reality: with back-to-school comes back-to-getting-serious-again-about-K&O’s-hair-and-skin. As soon as our pool closes for the season (which is right around when school starts), we go into full gear with hair-damage-repair around here. And as soon as those fall winds blow in, we hunker down with the skin-lotion-routines again. I’m always on the lookout for great products for K & O, and I blog only very rarely about it (click here for my only big post), so you can trust me when I say: if I’m blogging about it, we must love it. So, with no further ado, here are our top three latest greatest faves:
- Dr. Miracle’s Stimulating Moisturizing Gro Oil. Let me tell you, this stuff is awesome. We’ve been using it once a week, after our “deep clean routine.” K, O, and M all love a good bath and they take lots of them all week long. But on Sunday nights we do long soaking baths for all three kids, including serious scrubbing and bubbling and heavy duty cleansing. We wash K & O’s hair at least twice and then do a heavy conditioner that we leave in for as long as possible before rinsing out. And then (after clipping 30 fingernails and 30 toenails and cleaning 6 little ears with Q-tips and –for K & O– heavy lotion from head to toe) we do a leave-in oil treatment. We’ve tried a bunch of oils over the years. Right now, this Dr. Miracle’s Stimulating Moisturizing Gro Oil is our favorite. It has a tingling sensation on the scalp that the boys love (I mean, they love love love it!). It makes their hair smell good all week long (even if we wash once or twice in between, which we almost always do). And– best of all– it works miracles (seriously! this “Dr. Miracle” is a miracle!). In a relatively very short amount of time post-pool-closing, K & O’s locs are looking good. If I do say so myself: healthy, shiny, bouncy, vibrant. No kidding. This stuff is seriously a miracle! LOVE IT!!
- Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Nourishing Sheen Spray. K & O love to use a daily sheen spray. They always have. And, while I don’t think it is necessary at all, I have to admit that it does make their hair look really good! So, I indulge them in their love-affair with the sheen spray each morning. For at least three years now they’ve been excitedly calling it “car wash!” when their hair gets immersed in the cloud of mist from the can. They are now old enough to be trusted to spray each others hair somewhat responsibly (most days), so I’ve been letting them take turns spraying the sheen spray on each other (photo at top). Over time we’ve tried a few brands and I must say, this one is our favorite so far. The fragrance is not overwhelming, the mist is very light, there appears to be virtually no ‘build up’ over the course of the week, and the results are great: their hair looks nice and shiny all day long. Really good!
- c. Booth Tahitian Monoi Dry Oil Spray by Delicious Brands LLC. This is a a very sheer pump-spray oil that goes on light right onto the skin. We’ve been using this on K & O’s faces each day before school, instead of a cream lotion. It is just enough to give their faces the moisture that they need, without a heavy or greasy look/feel. And it smells wonderful. The boys love to use this and much prefer it to lotion on their faces. A little goes a long way (we’ve been working on the same bottle for a few weeks now and we’ve still only gone through half the bottle). Just one or two sprays per face, then a quick spread-it-around-and-rub-it-in, is all we need for all-day-healthy-looking faces. It makes their skin glow like scrumptious-looking caramel. Really. I could go on and on raving, but I’ll leave it at that.
So, throwing it back at ya!— Do you have a beautiful black child’s hair and skin to care for? If yes, what are your current faves?
This weekend we had our twice-annual get-together with the Slavins. Four of us (over the age of six) ate and drank and talked and talked and talked. Five of us (under the age of seven) ate and drank and played and played and played. Sunday morning was the traditional “Show”/performance/production/costume-party put on by the five-some. What a hootin’ hollerin’ good time. Other weekend highlights included: the little girls digging into the appetizers (we continue on our mission to prep these two to follow in the footsteps of their mamas to become college roommates… and the future’s looking bright!); Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue; trampoline; toddler drama; sangria; smores by the fire; FUN. Nothing like old friends. Nothing like it at all. Can’t wait for New Year’s!
The Meal:
– Naanwich with Tandoori Chicken, Tandoori Vegetables and a Pea Sauce
– Spicy Thai Chips
This week I’m going fusion…the Naanwich! It’s my husband’s invention, from early in our fusion marriage. Back then, there were no naanwich recipes online…now there seem to be a few, which I think is awesome and one day, I’ll definitely try them out. But for now, here’s our rendition.
Basically, you need to get hold of good quality naan, which is an oven-baked flatbread from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. I actually have a good recipe for naan that I’ve used in the past and had I made this swap meal during the summer (and not during a week in which I had an NSF proposal due), I would have definitely attempted fresh naan. But alas, I had to resort to my favorite frozen naan from my local Indian grocery store.
In addition to (buying the) naan, I baked some chicken in tandoori masala and sauteed some veggies, again in a bit of tandoori masala, and made a sauce for the sandwich (this time I’m trying a pea sauce). That being said, I really don’t think that Indian flavors are required to enjoy a good Naanwich. You could just as well slice up your your favorite roast chicken and sautee some veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper…and then stack ‘er up…may be toss in some cheese…smother on a sauce of your liking…perhaps throw it all in a panini maker…honestly, the possibilities are endless and endlessly delicious.
Tandoori Chicken
A “tandoor” refers to a cylindrical clay oven in which naan is typically made. Tandoori chicken is also usually cooked in a tandoor with a special blend of spices known as tandoori masala. Of course I bake my tandoori chicken (and naan, on the rare occasions that I actually make it at home) in my much less exotic KitchenAid convection oven. And as for the special spice blend, I purchase that from my local Indian grocery store as well. Here’s my recipe for tandoori chicken (for 8):
– 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
– 3/4 cup yogurt
– 2 teaspoons garlic paste
– 2 teaspoons ginger paste
– 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 2 tablespoon tandoori masala
– salt, to taste
– 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional, if you like heat)
– 1 teaspoon fresh garam masala (optional)
Directions: Repeatedly pierce chicken breasts with a knife. Toss in all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix and marinate for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking tray with foil and bake chicken breasts for 25-30 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake for another 10-12 minutes, this time at 375 degrees.
Veggies Sauteed in Tandoori Masala
– 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 6 oz. portabello mushrooms, cut in half and sliced
– 1 medium red onion, chopped
– 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cubed
– 1 medium red bell pepper, cubed
– 15 asparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
– salt, to taste
– 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
– 1 teaspoon tandoori masala
– 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
– handful of baby spinach
Directions: Heat oil in pan and add mushrooms. Sautee till about half done and then spoon out all the mushrooms from the oil and keep aside. Return oil to heat (a bit more oil might be needed at this point). Add onions and sautee for a minute and add both red and yellow bell peppers. Sautee for 2-3 minutes, add asparagus and salt. Sautee for another 2-3 minutes, add garlic and tandoori masala. Sautee for another few minutes. Remove from heat. Toss in cilantro and mix. If you have having this fresh (not swapping that is), toss in baby spinach at this point. Otherwise, wait till reheating.
Pea Sauce
– 1 (12 oz.) packet of frozen peas, thawed
– 3/4 cup yogurt
– 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
– 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
– salt, to taste
– pepper, to taste
– zest of half a lime
– 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Directions: Blanch the peas (I like to use the microwaveable bags of frozen peas and just cook them in the microwave, straight out of the freezer). Toss the peas in a blender. Add yogurt and blend till a paste forms (might need to help it along with a sprinkle of water). Mix in rest of ingredients and blend some more.
To Prepare Naanwich:
– Thinly slice the chicken breasts.
– Reheat chicken (stovetop, preferrably…might need to add some oil to ensure it doesn’t stick to pan).
– Reheat the vegetables. At the end toss in a handful of baby spinach and mix.
– Thaw naan (can use microwave) and heat both sides of naan on a non-stick pan.
– Use two pieces of naan to make a sandwich using chicken, vegetables and sauce.
– Might want to put cheese in the sandwich as well and heat the sandwich on a panini maker.
– Serve with chips.
Enjoy!
The Verdict:
Tuesday: Naanwich night. Here’s the thing, though…my local Indian grocery store had only two packets of the frozen naan that I like. So, I gave both packets to Heather and purchased two packets of frozen Tandoori Roti for myself. Tandoori roti is usually made with whole wheat flour, it’s thinner than naan, and usually it’s round. Because of the thinness of the roti, we ended up having our chicken and vegetables on the roti, soft taco style (instead of sandwich style)…..a tacoti, as it were. Regardless, the dinner was a hit on our end.
Wednesday: What a fancy meal for a Wednesday night! Kavya really liked the rice and carrots…in fact she asked that I pack her the leftover rice for lunch the next day. Alex loved the chicken and the raisins 
Kept putting a raisin on top of each morsel of chicken that he ate…very cute. Dave and I felt so grown up giving our kids this delicious, proper meal in the middle of a crazy busy week. (I had a cold by Wednesday night, which I am still nursing…so the swap was a lifesaver this week!) It was a pleasure to see our kids chowing down on wild rice pilaf and goat cheese infused chicken…wow! Granted they both didn’t love all parts of the meal but to seeing a two year old enjoying roasted chicken with goat cheese and basil…oh, the wonders of the swap! Thanks, Heather!
So, I’m a little bit of a cookbook junkie. Or, at least, I used to be. I used to regularly buy cookbooks for pleasure reading. I’d lie in bed at night reading cookbooks, cover-to-cover, as if they were engrossing works of literature, while Braydon would lie next to me actually reading engrossing works of (non-cookbook-genre) literature. I still love cookbooks and still do buy one here and there, and read them in that same way from time-to-time, but not nearly as much as before we had kids. Over the years I’ve been pretty good about getting rid of coookbooks that I don’t actually use, and keeping only the ones that I genuinely love, but still I have quite a few cookbooks. My favorite cookbooks –by far—have always been, and still remain, Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. For this week’s swap I decided to pull one of the Barefoot Contessas from the shelf – Barefoot Contessa At Home – and choose recipes I hadn’t tried before. Although I doubt I’ll ever use the recipes again (the meal was decent, but they weren’t outstanding “keepers”), I had a lot of fun getting the chance to really use one of my tried-and-true-oldie-but-goodie cookbooks. And here’s the funny thing… while sitting down with Barefoot Contessa At Home in planning for the swap, I was inspired to try an additional recipe for our dinner on Monday night (outside of the swap). It turned out to be absolutely fabulous and an instant favorite for all five of us – a definite outstanding “keeper.” So, ironically, I’m not posting the recipes for my swap dinner here this week. But instead I am posting the new favorite recipe. Note: The only reason I didn’t use it for the swap in the first place was because it involves pine nuts and Alex is allergic to them. I am sure that Dave and Shalinee would love this recipe!!!
Swap meal:
- Roasted Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese & Basil
- Orange-Honey-Ginger Glazed Carrots
- Wild Rice with Dried Fruit and Fresh Apple
The J-M’s New Favorite Salad:
This is the Pesto Pea Salad from Barefoot Contessa At Home. Here I’ve just slightly modified the ingredient list to make it easy to throw together on a moment’s notice. I served this with blackened tilapia and rice. Super easy and super, duper delicious! Owen had three huge servings of it and Kyle and Meera weren’t too far behind him. Braydon and I would have eaten more of it but there was none left by halfway through dinner. Next time I’ll probably double the recipe—no joke!—it is that good!
1 bag of fresh baby spinach
1/2 bag of frozen baby sweet peas, defrosted (I just rinsed them in a colander under lukewarm water to thaw them)
1/2 cup prepared pesto
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (just place raw pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat and toss until browned and toasted evenly)
Toss first four ingredients together in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt to taste, add pine nuts, and toss again. Yum!!!
O.k., now, about Shalinee’s “Naanwiches”….
All I’ve gotta say is WOW! WOW! WOW! My first thought was, “oh my gosh! naanwiches!!?! this is the next big thing! I can see naanwich shops springing up in every major city, suburb, and college town! we must patent this ASAP!!!!!!!!!!” Upon trying them, my reaction: “AWESOME!” This is a great, great idea. So fun, so tasty, so simply great. We all really liked this dinner. Owen and Meera went a little berserk for the mushrooms in the veggie mix. They started picking them out and eating them up like little crazy people. This bothered me because the mushrooms were my favorite part, too, and my children stole them all before I could eat them all. Kyle, on the other hand, was not thrilled with the veggie mix but went crazy for the chicken instead. Braydon and I just loved the whole entire “naanwich” package. And the pea sauce?! In my opinion, that’s what really pushed it over the edge to give it that wow factor!! So good! A very fun fun fun meal for our family. It made for a great J-M Tuesday dinner time. The swap… weeknight dinners around here are not like they used to be! In more ways than one! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our little Thursday-Heather-teaches-late-night has quickly developed into a ritual where we go to our local pizza place (affectionately called “Sal’s” after the name of the man who makes pizza, although the place is not called Sal’s). We love the pizza there, and our family has always been welcomed. In fact, they still have two years of our Christmas cards on their wall (note, there is only one other family on there as well). Which, while could be indicative of something else, is still quite a positive statement.
Our ritual goes like this: we get in the car, head on down to Sal’s (about 5 min away), park and go in. We sit in the same booth, order the same beverages (M: water, O: Root Beer, K: Ginger Ale B: draft lager). Following my lead, all three kids like putting on extra oregano, Parmesan and hot peppers (too funny to see that!). We hang out and have a nice time and everyone does great. It probably helps that over the bar there is a little TV playing sports….
Last night when we were leaving, we passed by the pick up area and I accidentally bumped into an older man picking up their pizza. Not bad, just a little bump. The man and I excused our selves, but Kyle and Owen really needed to know what happened.
O/K: “What happened?
Me: “Oh, nothing really, I just bumped that man there – sorry again!”
The man: “I’m sorry too (then to Owen and Kyle) – I just bumped your dad a little.” Then a bit of a pause from him and some embarrassed confusion… “er, well, or whoever he is.”
Owen: “He’s my Papi!”
And off we went.
The thing to me that’s so very interesting about this little interaction is that his first assumption was that I am the boys’ dad. It was only after he processed for a moment that he thought to question that. Of course, that’s the way it should be – but it’s often the other way around.
People tell us regularly that the boys look like us. Clearly they don’t mean their skin or facial structure – they mean something less tangible.
And that’s pretty cool.
Recent Quotes and Conversations From the Three Bambinos:
Owen tends to be overly dramatic at times about minor injuries (which is ironic since he has the highest pain tolerance you can possibly, possibly, possibly imagine). The other day we were in the kitchen and he banged his foot on the counter by accident. It was no big deal, but he started screaming as if the world were ending.
H: Owen, just remember, don’t be the boy who cried wolf.
O: I’m not! I’m the boy who cried foot!
*
If you’ve read this blog much at all, then you know the extent to which my boys can eat. Although they are only six years old, they have genuine appreciation for the all-you-can-eat-buffet~~
K: When we grow up, me and Owen are going to live together and go out to dinner every night at a big buffet.
*
Owen and Kyle have begun the life-long process of attempting to comprehend the social construction we call money. Ugh. Anyway… they really want to grasp the meaning of money, and I see them trying to wrap their heads around it. They currently have two, and only two, ways of receiving money: 1) from the tooth fairy, and 2) from MorFar, who sometimes gives them a dollar or two when he sees them. The first time they each lost a tooth, the tooth fairy left them notes telling them to “save their money for something special.” They really took that to heart and are actively trying to save money. However, since we see MorFar infrequently, and they lose teeth even more infrequently, their money-making/saving ventures are quite slow-going. That doesn’t dampen their enthusiasm for it, however! The other day I walked into the family room to find them trying to pull each others teeth out. They each have a couple loose teeth, but they are very (very!) far from being ready to come out. Overheard~~
O: Kyle, I can’t get it! I can’t get your tooth out! I really can’t!
K: Come on Owen! Just yank it! Yank it as hard as you can!
O: It’s stuck!
K: [trying to encourage his brother to keep pulling—] Make money Owen! Let’s make money! That’s what we’re trying to do!!!!!!!!!!!
*
Now that lawn-mowing season is slowing down, the boys are missing their beloved weekly ritual of harassing following the lawn-mowing guys around our yard when they come to mow. They have forever and always told us that as soon as they are old enough, they want us to buy a lawnmower and they will mow our lawn for us. We are absolutely all for that, and plan on taking them up on that offer ASAP! As far as K & O are concerned, the time cannot come soon enough. The other day~~
K: Mommy, you know what?I’m saving all my money to buy a lawnmower. I’m going to lose all my teeth and all my molars to buy it.
*
Fireworks are still a major topic of conversation in our house, even though the 4th of July was a whole 3 MONTHS AGO! (?!?!) The other day the three bambinos were playing in the playroom. K & O had concocted an elaborate scheme/scene wherein they were using various pieces of random toys to “set off fireworks.” Meera was enthralled with this and was playing along in her own way by continually repeating: “Fireworks! Fireworks scare me!”~~
O: [interrupting the action to get down on his knees to look Meera in the eye, totally completely sincerely—] Meera, it’s ok! Fireworks are just a part of nature!!!
*
Kyle and Meera were playing alone in the playroom the other day while Owen and I were making dinner. It was unusually quiet (which always makes me nervous). I yelled into the playroom “Kyle, is Meera doing ok in there?” He yelled back~~
K: Yup! She’s doing ok! Don’t worry, if a monster comes I’ll protect her!!!
*
We still are getting the boys up every night before we go to bed to have them pee. If we don’t do this we risk having at least one, if not two, pee-pee accidents by morning. The reduction in laundry alone is worth the hassle of getting them up. (something people without lots of experience with twins probably don’t think of much: double the pee pee accidents). The other night as we were putting them to bed~~
O: Don’t forget to wake me up to pee so that I don’t have an accident! O.k.? Oh! And yeah— get me up in the MIDDLE of the night, not the SIDE of the night, o.k.?!
*
The three bambinos continue to be OBSESSED with The Lion King. Even Meera, who wasn’t even at the Broadway show with us, and has barely a clue as to what The Lion King even actually is, is just as obsessed as her brothers. They put on the music and go nuts — regularly (like, almost daily). But now they do more than just play out all the parts– they plan for the future when THEY will star in the Broadway show. K & O plan to both play the part of Simba (they’ve learned that sometimes productions like to cast twins to take turns night-by-night playing one role and they think that this is a fabulous idea). The other day~~
K: O.k., Owen, you will be Simba on the even days and I will be Simba on the odd days. Right?
O: Yes, that’s right.
K: And what will Meera be?
O: Meera will be Nala. I figured it out! We’ll paint her skin brown with body paint! We will paint it every night! We’ll paint everything except for her private parts because nobody is allowed to see those parts anyway so they’ll never know that she’s actually white!”
*
A couple of weeks ago we were watching the movie Princess and the Frog. Anyone who has seen it knows that in it there are two major female characters who, throughout the story, are close friends— Tiana (who is clearly black), and Charlotte (who is clearly white). The thing that was so fascinating to me about the following was what it reveals about K & O’s understanding of the –for them, very probable and ‘natural’– potential for black and white people to be siblings (or, apparently, even twins):
K: Owen, you see them? Tiana and Charlotte?
O: Yup.
K: Remember how Papi said that they’re best friends?
O: Yup.
K: Do you think that’s true or not?
O: I don’t know.
K: Are they actually sisters? are they twins?
O: I think so.
K: I think so too. I think they are actually sisters or maybe twins.
*
The first week of school I made macaroni-and-cheese for “The Swap”. Owen LOVED it and couldn’t get enough of it. At school one day that week, during pick-up, we saw Shalinee and Kavya. We were already in the car and driving out of the parking lot, but I stopped so that the boys could say hi to them from the backseat. We chatted for a minute and Shalinee mentioned that they were going to be eating the macaroni-and-cheese for dinner that night. We had eaten it the night before. Owen and Kyle got very excited, telling them how good it was and how they were going to just LOVE it! As we pulled away Owen screamed wildly out the window, “The macaroni and cheese is sooooo gooooooood! IT WILL WATER YOUR MOUTH!!!”
*
One day the boys were playing in the backyard. I was watching them from our kitchen window, as I was washing dishes at the sink. They each had a big stick that they were carrying around with them the whole time — from the swings, to the sandbox, to the grass, etc. — regardless of what they were doing, they had the sticks with them. Apparently, the sticks were “spears.” Overheard~~
O: Kyle! I have to pee! I’m going to go inside to the bathroom! I’m bringing my spear!
K: Ok!
O: Don’t worry, I’ll be right back!
K: Ok!
O: Don’t worry, Kyle! If we separate, its okay, because we have our spears!
*
Now… switching gears a bit…
(I have thought a lot about this one, and still find it quite profound…) One day toward the end of the summer I was sitting at the kitchen table with all three kids while they were coloring. Out of the blue~~
K: Meera, do you want to go to Haiti? to our country?
M: Sure!
K: Do you want to see our country?
M: Sure!
K: Because we’re already seeing your country.
*
Braydon and the boys, driving to the grocery store a while back– out of the blue, from the backseat~~
K: Papi, did you know that I wish I grew in Mommy’s belly?
*
Recently~~
K: Mommy, when I grow up I’m going to marry someone from Haiti, but we’re not going to live there because I’m too scared of earthquakes.
*
And… switching gears again… for the first time ever… quotes from Meera!~~~~~
The other morning I came downstairs after getting dressed for work, and as I walked into the kitchen where Meera was playing she looked up at me, her face lit up, and she exclaimed: “Mama! I like your outfit!!” (!!!!!!!! age 2.)
And Meera’s current favorite choice phrases: “I got it first!” (we hear this at least 100 times a day and believe us when we say that she usually did NOT get it –whatever it is at any given moment– first). “My coming too!” (again, at least 100 times a day, trailing behind K & O no matter where they are going or how fast they are going there). After just about every single thing that she eats enters her mouth: “Delicious!” And her most used and over-used remark, for any and everything, at least 200 times a day: “Oh my gosh! Oh my goodness!”
*
And, saving the best for last… last but not least… my favorite…
Out of the blue one day, from Kyle to me~~
K: Mommy, I just love you so much I wish I was married with you.
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