Apparently, we have vastly different attitudes toward strangers here at Casa de Motherscribe. BOY will throw open the door to any pedestrian who chances to walk by, most especially ones with dogs, and boldly initiates dialogue.
Can I pet your dog?
What's his name?
I'm BOY! Your dog reminds me of my Soul Man. He's dead. He was an old doggie.
What are you doing here?
Where do you live?
Etc., etc.
His sense of boundaries is very...wavy. He is open, sometimes to a fault. He is known to throw his arm around a stranger's leg, lift up the shirt on a pregnant belly, and investigate the neighbor's trunk they had forgotten about in the back of their closet.
GIRL is wary of strangers. She is known far and wide for her deliberate, wide eyed, "I will not break eye contact, because you are CLEARLY up to no good" stare. In fact, we called it The 200 yard Glare when she was a baby. Indeed. It was disconcerting to other people, but provided much amusement for us.
There was the restaurant incident when GIRL was under 1. We were vacationing on Edisto Island, South Carolina. The waitress, determined to engage GIRL and make her laugh, did her best. She wasn't good enough. Not for GIRL. And, she took it as a personal failure.
I've NEVAH had a child not smile at ME.
Obviously, GIRL, at less than a year old, was responsible for the waitress and her feelings. While I was finishing up lunch with BOY & GIRL in the restaurant, E went to a toy store next door to purchase a ball. As he was leaving the store, he ran into the waitress.
Is that ball for the baby who smiles OR THE ONE WHO DOESN'T?
Yes, she took it as a personal failure. Perhaps it ruined her life. Heh.
GIRL is not prone to easy laughter. But, when you hear her belly laugh or giggle, you're captured forever. A smile and her trust have to be earned. She is incredibly loyal, and keeps an eye out for BOY. As he does her. They have a pretty good system between them.
Recently, a group of harmless, elderly, Born Again ladies came calling. GIRL happened to catch sight of them just about to walk up our driveway. She ran out into the yard screaming:
STRANGERS!
STRANGERS ARE COMING!
Get INSIDE!!!!
Lock the doors!
STRANGERS! STRANGERS!
She then proceeded to run into the house with BOY, slam the door, and collapse on the floor. Breathless...and giggling.
GIRL. She is cautious, loud, and a big ol' ham. Yes, GIRL is mischievous. Needless to say, the elderly ladies moved right on down the road....
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Painting by Chuck Gumpert. Titled: Mischievous
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We have a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses in my neighborhood and they make me nervous. Might GIRL come visit and help me cultivate an unapproachable aura for them, please?
ReplyDeleteI need to borrow her, too. My husband lets everybody in. I make a mad dash to hide. I was suckered in recently by a good looking college kid selling educational books, though. Can you say "Sucker"?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have smiled at the waitress either. Took that smile a little too seriously, didn't she?
ReplyDeleteHRH is the same (stingy) way with the belly laughs. It makes them all the more precious because they are hard won.
She sounds like a Girl after my own heart! I've been known to draw the shades and hide when the doorbell rings, too.
ReplyDeleteIf she can keep religious solicitors away from the door she's already got a marketable skill.
ReplyDeleteso stinkin cute
ReplyDeleteThe Queen is VERY stingy with her smiles, even 5 years down the road. She does not suffer strangers gladly. DeBoy is everybody's friend. I get the Mormons at my house. They've caught us a couple of times with the gate open. I figure they made it all the way up the driveway so I let them in. One time the big dog was out and they didn't get out of the car.
ReplyDeleteGirl can come over to our place anytime. Damn sidewalk painters are NUTS around here.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, can I borrow her, too?
ReplyDeleteNo, she sounds like a little girl who knows her own mind. Good for her!