Relationships 101

Eliot On Relationships.

When girls are little, they like boys but boys don't want them. But when girls are big, boys like them and then THEY don't want them.

Right Mommy?

Such a black and white view of love (and from a five year old). Still, better than the one I had as a kid (see image above). To be noted, the colors are the same...

Symbolic Logic

Symbolic Logic According to Eliot:

"Why didn't you tell them to make me without whining or crying for no reason?"

Who?

"You know, the people in the hospital, the ones who made me."

(It was a public hospital?)

I Told Her I Didn't Have A Car...

...but she didn't believe me. That would be Heidi, my very good college friend, who is visiting. The good news is she took to the luge very quickly. True, dodging the rush hour Bukit Timah traffic was no picnic but she did welcome the light breeze...

One of the best things about living in Singapore has certainly been not needing a car (most of my friends here would disagree) but they are multi-millionaires who think nothing of paying the exorbitant car tax and they also have...a driver's license.

Me? I'll stick with the luge (or Heidi will in this case).

A Star Is Born

Eliot had some big news today: "I'm going to be in the school play."

Really? What part are you going to play?

(My brain starts racing ahead. Maybe she'll be a child star, make commercials that can pay her college tuition, no, suppress that thought, wouldn't want her to have that crazy lifestyle, still she could go to the School for Performing Arts in NYcity and live out my own childhood dreams, no, that's not fair, suppress the thought...)

"I'm going to be a puddle..."

Okay, totally suppressed.

(Excellent photo taken by good friend Heidi who is visiting.)

In the Name of the Father

Our Italian priest has sent over First Communion books from Verona so that hopefully this summer Alexander can have his communion without attending a formal course here in Singapore. But first, he'll have a chat (test) with an Italian priest who will assess his preparation. So we've started going over the basics. In Italian, which makes it hard for him (and harder for us to hold a straight face) like when he said: "last supera" meaning last supper. You can't just add an a/o to words and think that makes them Italian. Well, not every word. Yesterday:

Cosa e' Natale (What is Christmas?) "Quando viene Santa Clauso a dare i presenti? (When Santa Claus comes to give presents?" Nooooo. "Oh, no, I mean, quando nasciuto Gesu'?" Nato (born). Okay, good.

What about Easter? And don't say when the Easter Bunny comes to give chocolate. "Gesu' muerto sulla croce?" Very good. Now, something basic.

Sei cattolico? "Si." Good.

Sei cristiano? "Si." Good

Sei protestante? "Si."

Houston, we have a problem.

(Photo: Alexander and one of the 'guardians' of the Duomo di Verona.

Dreaming of Verona (Part II)

Best espresso in town. Served piping hot with delicious apricot-filled croissants.

I know, it's a hard job but somebody has gotta do it!

This is my favorite coffee shop in Verona and always my first stop the morning I fly in from Singapore.

Not that I'm homesick, because I'm not. Really.

Dreaming of Verona (Part 1)

This is a great mode of transportation. Not so easy to come by, it is reliable, and allows you to see the world from a much higher viewpoint. It's a good idea to keep one of these handy for long walks on cobblestoned streets during hot summer days in Verona...

(Eliot holds on dearly to hers.)

Here Comes the Bride...

Alexander and I were watching the royal wedding when, lo and behold, we turn around and see this!

Well, somebody was clearly influenced by all the celebrations.

Not that Eliot hadn't already been giving plenty of thought to her 'marriage day.'

When the boy she likes best from her class came over for a playdate she announced they would be getting married one day. Explaining: "You know, when I'm tall and have longer hair."

The little boy concurred: "Yes, I'm marrying Eliot..." but then (somewhat ruining the romantic mood), he continued: "And then, a chicken. I love chickens."

Ever the pragmatist, Eliot answered: "We could get a chicken as a pet."

"Alright," he compromised.

Nice to see my five year old is a problem solver and not at all a bigamist.

But I have to admit I'm happier when she nixes the whole marriage thing: "Or I can live with you forever, right Mommy?"

As Alexander would say: "Oh yes!"

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

It's Mother's day, Mom, and you're faraway. And sometimes it's the thing I hate most about living in Singapore. Wish we could have a cup of coffee together and go look for houses that I can't afford. You know the ones, in centro storico Verona with frescoes, dark rooms, and a view. The good old days.

True, you were at times prone to exaggeration, like when you boasted, "My daughter danced with Nureyev." Yes, we were on the same stage and yes, he did choose me to play him as a little boy in Don Chisciotte and even lifted me, but I was 9, so not really the same thing...

And true, you weren't always great at boosting my self-confidence: "You're going to be beautiful when you're sixteen...what's that you say? You ARE sixteen. Well, that's strange. Then seventeen, you'll see..."

And true, you did provide me with slightly odd presents to bring over to my friends when I was little, "Wait, here you go, a nice package of frozen corn, you'll see they'll love it."

What I'm most thankful for today is not that you got me the most amazing wedding dress in the world (it was) or that you supported my going away to Ridgewood and then to Vassar (thank you!) but that when I became a mother you never once made me feel insecure, "Chamomile suppositories to help the baby sleep? Sounds totally reasonable."

So, thanks for putting up with all my shenanigans, for laughing at my jokes, and for always being there for me. I love you. Happy Mother's Day!

A Sleuth in the House...

Yesterday Eliot presented me with a crumpled up piece of paper she had found in her brother's trash bin and another piece of paper on which she had tried to re-copy most of the original message. "See, Mommy, I found this, it's Alexander's. He threw it away but I got it back."

'Dear Mommy, sometimes you make me very angry...."

Ahhhh, comes a bloodcurdling scream from Alexander: "She's looking through my private stuff. It's like having the CSI in the house."

Don't you mean CIA? And Eliot, please leave Alexander's stuff alone.

(Such cunning, and from a 5 yr old who can barely write her name, not sure whether to be impressed or scared...)

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Alexander, after listening to refrain "I walk alone, I walk alone"in Boulevard of Broken Dreams (his favorite song by Green Day):

"If he puts on eyeliner like that-of course, he'll walk alone!"