Not every child you can persuade easily to love you or even to like you. Children have their own categories toward adults, they either like you or dislike you, you can tell by their behavior towards you. There is this two year child once that I had to look after for a day. Normally, the minute she sees me she rebuffs my entire existence. How can I tell? Well she made it very clear that I never existed in her life, she would simply go around babbling and speaking to every one in the room except me. When she looked towards me I could see as if she had glassy eyes. She would penetrate me as if I was thin air. Nevertheless, patience is my best companion according to some people.
One day her parents had to leave her in a save place for some errands they had to keep up with. They left her with me. I have to admit I don’t find myself very qualified in a long run to stay with kids. However, it was until that day came that we both had to learn how to adjust according to necessary circumstances. While we tried to make her feel that she was at home, the little child felt a bit edgy for she sensed something fishy was about to happen. Realizing how her safety radar was alert, I approach the tiny little creature and made a deal. I bent down and met her little sharp eyes and said “Honey, you mommy and daddy have to leave you with me for a while,” with a questioning facial expression her sharp eyes, which grew bigger before I could finish my sentences, “they have to go to work both of them… and you and I.. will stay together.” She looked at me with a strange look on her face. Then I said “What would you like to do, do you like to play? Come with me and I’ll show you my toys, which you can borrow to play with.”
When I took her to my large bedroom, she started to show some hesitation for she didn’t find anything interesting. I opened my wardrobe and got out some old toys of mine. She gave me that sneer look as if they don’t count to be as toys at all. I put them down on the mattress; got us some color pencils and papers, and finally I had those two tiny dummies. It was obvious that she didn’t like any of them then I asked her “Can you teach me how to play?” She immediately lifted her eye brows and to my surprise told me to wait till she comes back. I did I didn’t move a muscle I just sat there and waited for her return, I never thought of anything I just sat waiting. She quickly went down and up the stairs and came dashing into the room. She looked how I organized the toys, and then off to her imaginary world we played.
Few minutes later, her mommy called me on the cell phone she was saying what had I done to convince her to stay. I said “I have done nothing I’d just told her the truth about the entire situation.” Her mother replied saying “Well, she is a difficult child and stubborn as well, but somehow you managed to convince her to tell us to go to work.” I was glad to hear so; this meant that this child’s thermometer was purely based on both honesty and trust. While I was talking to the phone the child had that questioning eyes again, so I told her it was her mommy and she was asking about her. Amazingly, she started puffing expressing her boredom for this long chit chat over the phone, so I excused myself to concentrate with the little tiny autocratic child.
Three hours passed us without sensing the time. Time for lunch had approach us and of course difficulty came a long. I started to say that I was hungry, and asked her if she was, too. The sign of rejection emerged threatening a beautiful clam day to end at 12:30 pm. I told her “Could you wait for me like I waited had waited for you?” she agreed, I went down stairs filled a plate with hot meal, and run up stairs back to the room. I sat there and started eating without inviting her to eat. A cleaver idea came across my mind. I assumed that I was calling someone and was talking to in order to give her the chance to choose whether to eat or not. As I returned to the room, she had already finished the meal. So I gave her that look to express that she ate my meal and then we started chasing around the room trying to get her and tickle her. She was laughing and screaming with joy when I dropped dead; as if I was fatigue over whelmed me, she came to me and told me I should eat because food gives strength.
After eating and enjoying the day it was time to get my siblings back home. So we went on the car. She sat on my lap while I tried to put her on the other seat. She went back to sit on my lap again, so I held her tight toward me, and off we went. Amazingly, she started to feel my hands and while she was flip flopping them she looked at me in astonishment! I looked back at her where I realized how both our hands have some resemblance. She started to look for more deep details such as softness, shape and surprisingly age!
28th January 2008. Alexanadue
