Easy enough!
We watered it for a couple of days ... and even though he understands the plant cycles, Tony was growing incredibly frustrated with the lack of visible signs of growth.
Enter Mali. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I still don't know the sweet man's name. (Awhile back, I asked Kushal what his name was (as Mali means gardener) and even HE didn't know, although they've worked together for many, many years).
On an every-other-day basis, Mali takes a break from his outdoor gardening duty and comes inside to water plants. The instant he walked inside a couple of days ago, Tony excitedly said "I'm going to ask him to water my plant!"
I explained - very simply - that Mali might not understand what he was saying (as he speaks VERY limited English). Tony responded quickly that he would just "speak the way Mali would understand."
Tony ran up to Mali - cradling the little pot, naked of any signs of life - and tried to communicate his request that Mali water the little seed he'd planted inside the dirt.
Mali nodded, smiled and put up one finger, as if to say 'one minute.'
He disappeared out the front door ... and Tony turned to me with a huge smile on his face.
Just a minute or two later, Mali re-entered the house ... with this ::
Just WHAT does a parent say to THAT?
Mali was so proud of himself. He thought Tony was asking him to plant something in his barren little pot. Tony was asking him to simply water the seed.
I can't possibly convey the humor in this experience with you all, but I was stifling a giggle for the remainder of the evening!
(The next morning, we tried - in vain - to explain to Tony that our Mali was not MAGIC ... he only misunderstood our direction and request ... but the little dude isn't buying it! He asked me to print pictures of his magic plant to show his classmates at school!)
On another note, there was also a recent situation where Tony asked Shanti for graham crackers. Typically, the kids like to eat them - all crushed up - with milk ... a delicious snack courtesy of my grandfather's creativity. (The post about Shanti's homemade graham crackers is another post waiting to be written!)
Tony recently ran into the kitchen and asked Shanti for graham crackers. Easy enough, right?
Shanti has the memory of an elephant and because previously, the kids had explained how they like their graham crackers with milk, she proceeded to get out the bowls and the milk. Tony very angrily said to her, "NO Shanti, I want graham crackers with FROSTING inside ... like a sandwich."
Talk about a teaching moment for a parent!
I marched into the kitchen and first asked Tony to apologize to Shanti for speaking to her that way ... and then guided him through the discussion, whereby he was directed to explain EXACTLY what he wanted, and that he needed to be clear when he asked for her to prepare something for him. I explained that unless he was clear with his request, he couldn't expect to get good results, or to receive what he wanted or needed.
There are some serious learning curves for me here as a mama. Some learning lessons for ME. When you hear yourself saying out loud, the very things YOU yourself need to work on, it is oh so humbling.
