What Does the Fox Say?

GERING-DING-DING-DING-DINGERINGEDING

http://youtu.be/jofNR_WkoCE

Dog goes woof   Cat goes meow  Bird goes tweet and Mouse goes squeak...

Cow goes moo  Frog goes croak  And the elephant goes toot...

Ducks say quack and fish go blub And the seal goes ow ow ow

But there's one sound no one knows

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?

WA-PA-PA-PA-PA-PA-POW!

She's baaaaack. 

Actually, she never left. At least she never left my heart or yours. Right?

Today, The Cousin and I went to the library. Just her and I and, what seemed like, a million snotty nosed 2 and 3 year olds that drove me nuts, reminding me that I'm much more qualified, these days, to be a pole dancer than a pre-school teacher.

GAWD! It was like a nut house and the only sane one?  The Cousin.

Calm, cool, collected and VERY well-behaved, she patiently waited her turn to participate in Miss Linda's interpretation of the children's story "There was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly." (Weird messages throughout, but all in the name of rhyme, which I abhor.)

I gotta hand it to Miss Linda. Day in and day out, dealing with a room full of out-of-control toe-heads that do far more than just wiggle on their carpet squares. These punks throw full-blown, screaming tantrums and the moms, every once in a while, look-up from their IPhones.
I pray to God that Linda isn't a volunteer.
The Cousin and I positioned ourselves on a multi-colored beanbag.  She insisted on sitting on the patch of blue fabric, because blue is now her favorite color. (Man, I was worried it was going to be pink.) We were both poised on-lookers, and every once in a while, she leaned into me and whispered, "Valerie, what does the fox say?" Her giggle is infectious.
This is her new joke and her new favorite video. And that's right. She calls me "Valerie" now.

The days of "Wallery and roses" are long gone. Caillou too. (Thank you, Jesus!) She's shedding Elmo and Caillou like an old coat and turning to Madeleine and YouTube fox videos.
She's growing up.
She doesn't need my hand to get out of her car seat, nor an extra offer of support to climb 3 flights of stairs. Today, along with her usual books and movies, she wanted to check out a book to read to her new baby sister. Now that's maturity, people!  It's as if Superwoman has emerged out of the ashes...
Yes, I am now, and forever more, "Valerie" to her and together we will conquer this library story time madness, one screaming toddler at a time. 

And then we'll get the hell out of dodge. Have a little beverage. Chat about the old days. And read her new addiction, one square at a time!

She's a cool kid with a cool outlook.
We all should be blessed with this much curiosity and zest for life:

See a pile of fall leaves, jump in them just to hear the C R U N C H !  

CRUNCHING, PBJ IN HAND

Plop down in the middle of our shadow, simply because you want to "touch it!"

As adults, we've lost that "zest for life."  Seems we go about our daily routines, rituals and obligations required of us at such a pace, any zest that remains is just in the lemon peel of our cocktails.

Seems we've also lost, what I often refer to as, "the art of conversation."  Look in your mailbox. Any cards, notes, letters from friends or simply bills and consumer ads?
Now, look in your email box.
Less and less, right? How about on your voicemail of your phone? Any calls from friends lately? Maybe, but not as much as a few years ago. Lots of texting to converse and lots of Facebook to share stories, opinions and pictures. The idea of calling a friend, on a regular basis and meeting at a cafe to "catch-up" or sharing recent photos, offering a hug (real arms not virtual)...
Those times are less and less. 

I propose to you, that this lessening, is removing the zest from each of our lives. 

So, what does the fox say? 

Call a friend today! Meet on an unknown trail and take a walk with that friend or by yourself.
Sit smack down in your shadow! Put a box, from your remote control car, on your head and pretend it's your helmet!

Play the video at the beginning of my blog, and dance around your living room!

Locate "The Cousin" inside yourself! She's there waiting.
Let her soar today!

~tpg

P.S. Next week... Interview #5 with Mina; a polished gem who's a very long way from home.
Stay tuned in, pals.

Shin-nanny-gans

Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because she/he hasn't developed all those filters which prevent us from seeing things that we don't expect to see. ~Douglas Adams

So as many of you know, I'm a bit of a "Jane-of-all-trades".  Managing the trailer park was perhaps my most cherished and satisfying job thus far, although my nanny gig comes in
at a close second.
Along with my "shin-nanny-gans" position, I currently hold 2 other part-time jobs:
I help run a Japanese tea shop (hence my hair, skin and voice all are turning Japanese with a trailer trash drawl, of course) and I'm a substitute elementary school teacher for a district
in the area. This third position happens to bring me the most money; hence, I do it.

Last week, I was in a second grade classroom and I positioned myself on a small chair in the middle of the carpet; a carpet with a picture of the United States of America on it...
"I sit on Montana." one little girl with pig-tails says. "No, I sit on Montana." a boy yells. "I sit on Texas and that's where my tia lives." said another..."Watch out! When you sit on Texas, you might sit on a steer's horns." I, the smart-ass substitute, responded.

I love carpet time with children.  You sing a little, do some stretches and yoga, read some cool and interesting books and have lots of sharing.  It's so revealing, the sharing thing.
But it never fails, and it seems to always happen a lot with second graders; they inevitably start talking (in great detail) about their animals that either died, ran away or worse.  
EVERY DAMN TIME, no joke.
One kid starts in and then another, then 5 hands shoot up and they all have something to share on the subject. By the third kid, I'm fucking depressed out of my mind and I'm in desperate need of changing  the subject.
I inevitably pull out a Dr. Seuss book or something just to not break down in front of twenty 
7-year olds.
Kids are so honest.  I recall subbing in my pal's kindergarten one time not so long ago. I'm sitting with a small group of 7 or 8 kids and one little boy announces, "My dad's in jail." The little girl to his right looks so happy to have something in common with him, "So is my daddy!" she exclaims. Then (again) the hands shoot up.
I've come to believe, that young children walk around in a puffy honesty cloud 24/7.

Like when I ask The Cousin if she pinched Sweet Pea, she looks me in the eyes and says, "Yes."

The Cousin fakin it.

I dig that. Why are we grown-ups such liars?! And what changed us from those little innocent Truth-Sayers to the most embellishing, lying mammals on the planet? When did the shift take place?

Last week, when I asked The Cousin if she was tired and ready to take a nap, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.  "Okay, nighty night." I said and then, like a mattress spring, she popped up and said with such joyful jubilation, "I'm not sleeping, Bal La Lee! I awake!" 

 

Even Kitty's awake.

I think children, especially those who witness joy, positive vibes and honesty in their day to day lives, maintain their truthful little selves for quite awhile; until maybe they leave the safety and comfort of their guarded nests. That is when the world becomes the Loch Ness Monster and that is when they (we) have to sometimes fudge the truth in order to survive.    

Maybe it's about grown-up survival.

I think this is one reason we grown-ups "ooh and aww" at the sight of a baby.  They're so damn cute, yes, but it's that innocence we see in their faces; the truthful words we hear that cause us to stop and want to pick them up, hold them, kiss them, become their nanny!

The Cousin kissing Ducky.

Okay, that was a weird kiss, but sweet nonetheless.  I'm telling you, kids got it goin on! 
It's how the world should be.

Young kids are "in-the-moment", "do-the-right-thing", honest people most of the time.   

I got the beat.

That "in-the-moment-thing" is so connected to the truth and innocence that I'm yakking about...

Where as you and I see a toilet, Sweet Pea sees bongo drums.  So cool.  When children are allowed to explore, create, voice their opinions, think beyond and out of our box that we tend to stuff them into, then they remind us, perhaps, of our own soul; the one we left behind.  
Walt Disney was once quoted as saying, "That's the trouble with the world.  Too many people grow up."



Sweet Pea



Seems as if we're talking about two things here; truth and innocence.  You know, they go together like jam and white bread and I'm gonna tell you why. (You knew I would).  When your life is filled with endless joys and all your needs are met; meaning you want for nothing...
When everyone that you encounter is trustworthy, of good ethic and follows through on what they say...When discussion, rather than explosion, is what you learn to expect when you find yourself in a bad situation...When fairness is what is shown to you from Day One...
I suspect all this and more are factors in us becoming truthful adults and maintaining our gorgeous innocence!  Might I say, my grown-up readers, then we'll begin to walk in that puffy cloud of honesty and innocence.  Aww, such a majestic, beautiful thing.

So, that's my 2 cents (more like 2 bucks) for today. Oh! And let's not forget the laughter!

The sound of The Cousin and Sweet Pea laughing makes me happy; truly it does.
The drag would be if I were watching them one evening and the power went out.
~tpg