"He's okay," I said, "But I don't like his wife. She's too flashy."
"Oh yes!" he replied with rising excitement. "I 'ear she's dating other men! Behind dAvid Beck'um's... be'Ind 'is? be'Ind 'is?"
What can possibly be cuter than a little 7-year-old Brit tapping his lower lip and trying to come up with the proper idiom to discuss celebrity smut? (Only one million puppies!--and that's only if they're all real fuzzy AND chasing their tails in unison.)
As far as little first graders go, C wasn't the worst reader. He wasn't a reading stud neither, and that is why his British mama decided he needed reading help outside of class--to keep up with the Americans he now sat next to in school.
The thought was kind of silly to me. In America, we always hear about how our kids are so far behind in math and science, but we never hear that our reading skills are above average. (If I'm reading this Washington Post article, Jan. 2007 correctly, American students outread 18 of the 22 top-performing industrialized countries.)
In actuality, I don't care why C comes in! I just love having him around. He's so blissfully energetic, completely wide-eyed about his trans-Atlantic move. His happy-go-lucky attitude is entirely opposite of the "everything's going to shit" perspective I've inherited from my Dad. And that's why it's so appealing. I think of how I have dealt with change throughout my life, and, man, if it was a subject in school, I would have been held back for about 3 years before some principal would insist that I get socially promoted. The even more shocking thing is: Moving between countries is no small change! AND the catalyst for this intercontenental adventure was his parents' divorce.
Another tutor and I had discussed this: "You know, kids are much more resilient than we give them credit for. Sure some of them are sensitive, but some of the younger ones hear their parents are getting a divorce, and they think, 'Cool! Now I have TWO houses!'"
It reminded me of young children who've lost their mothers. A co-worker had lost his Mom when he was five. "All of my brothers and sisters were upset with me because when my Dad got remarried, I started calling his new wife Mom." He said it wasn't until he was in college that he started have dreams about his biological mother. Like he was too young to deal with it when it happened, but once he could wrap his mind around the events that occurred, the memories tried leaping the gap between his sub-conscious and conscious minds.
My high school and college friends who lost their mothers had a terrible time coping! It was as if at some older age, they had started to visualize their futures, and their parents were always in it. One of my friends lamented that her mother wouldn't see her graduate or help her put on her wedding gown.
I don't know what C's relationship with his Dad was like before the move. But I do know that his situation doesn't dominate conscious-thinking neurons. He just speaks matter-o-factly about topics of concern to him, saying things such as:
- "Michael Jackson is quite ugly."
-or-
- "The Queen is very lovely, and maybe she can teach the American President to be less rude." (when discussing the Queen's upcoming tea with President Bush)
But in the meantime, he taps his lower lip, trying desparately to communicate his pressing, important thoughts: "Be'Ind 'is?"
"Behind his back?" I offer.
"Oh yes! That's it! Be'Ind 'is back!"
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