"She's Not Family"
So at Pitchfork on Saturday, a couple of acquaintances (friends of friends, they're almost friends of ours at this point, but not quite, I guess) were there with their 2-1/2-year-old daughter. As much as I had shuddered upon seeing people there with toddlers earlier in the day, this family seemed to have the right idea - Dad was there the whole weekend, while Mom and Daughter came only for Saturday afternoon; they set up camp and one of the parental units was always keeping the toddler entertained, only occasionally bringing her to see bands, and even then, backing off when she got fussy.
Anyway, that's nothing more than a set-up for this story - she took a liking to me, for some reason (my rampant immaturity, most likely), and somehow, we wound up playing a game she called airplane: she'd balance her little feet in my hands, then sort of half-stand up, then I'd swing her around while she cried, "I'm a airplane!" It was a good time. (And yes, I'm totally serious.)
Anyway, every time I put her down, she would scramble up and say, "I would like to be a airplane again, please." At some point, her dad got concerned that she was overstaying her welcome (even though she totally wasn't) and told her, "I think you can ask to be an airplane two more times, and after that you're done. You can't ask to play too much, because she's not family, okay?"
It was a long time later when it occurred to me that, essentially, he was telling her that bugging her aunts, uncles, and other family members for however long she wanted to would be okay. I hope that works out well for him.
Anyway, that's nothing more than a set-up for this story - she took a liking to me, for some reason (my rampant immaturity, most likely), and somehow, we wound up playing a game she called airplane: she'd balance her little feet in my hands, then sort of half-stand up, then I'd swing her around while she cried, "I'm a airplane!" It was a good time. (And yes, I'm totally serious.)
Anyway, every time I put her down, she would scramble up and say, "I would like to be a airplane again, please." At some point, her dad got concerned that she was overstaying her welcome (even though she totally wasn't) and told her, "I think you can ask to be an airplane two more times, and after that you're done. You can't ask to play too much, because she's not family, okay?"
It was a long time later when it occurred to me that, essentially, he was telling her that bugging her aunts, uncles, and other family members for however long she wanted to would be okay. I hope that works out well for him.
posted by mcm at
3:15 PM
2 Comments:
Kids are probably drawn to you for the same reasons they are drawn to me, you smile at them and are willing to talk to them. :)
I think the "not family" comment was more about putting things in a simple format for the kid, and the message will change as the kid gets older. Our big one with CB is that when she wants something in the store that we aren't going to buy we tell her that those aren't ours, they belong to the store. :)
By
Anonymous, at 7/17/2007 6:31 AM
so cute. i would like an airplane too. does it matter that i'm over 100 lbs?
By
Mrs. J, at 7/19/2007 5:55 PM
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