Embarrassing moments
Two of my brothers are visiting from Argentina, because of my niece Natalia's graduation this weekend. My brother Paco came with his little daughter Sofia, which is not only one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen but also a bright one. Sofía is 3 years old ('three and a half', she will immediately correct me) and is -I think- smarter than your average toddler. She also has a very big vocabulary and she knows how to use her words. It's adorable -and most times, amazing- to listen to the things she says.
Knowing that she has a great memory, I would engage with her in silly games that would last a couple days. One of them turned out to be a very funny one, and it almost looked like I had been setting her up for days.
I like to say silly things about myself just to gauge the kids’ reactions. While spending the weekend in New York, we would ‘fight’ sometimes and I would tell her not to make me sad because I would poop my pants. She would laugh and of course continue to say bad things about me, but it was obvious she knew I was just kidding. That game continued during our car ride from NYC to Virginia, with Sofi teasing me from the back seat.
Once at my brother’s place, and while we were having dinner, I asked Sofi if she could sit on my lap, to which of course she said ‘no’ and went to sit on Natalia’s lap. I then pretended to be very affected by the situation, and asked her ‘not to make me sad’ and that she knew why. She immediately started to giggle, and told her cousin what would happen to me if they kept saying ‘hurtful’ things to me. Of course they both went at it.
I began to ‘cry’ and then suddenly I said ‘Uh-oh’ and stayed perfectly still. She stopped teasing me, but was still smiling and looking at me knowing that I was just pretending. When she wasn’t looking, I grabbed a paper napkin and a spoon, and I put some of the chocolate ice cream on it, then placed it behind my back. When she turned her attention to me again, I looked at the napkin and said, sad:
- Oh, man…
You should have seen her face!!!! She kept looking at me, very concerned, for the rest of the evening, but was very careful to keep some distance.
Have I ruined chocolate ice cream for you already? :-)
Sabiendo que además tiene buena memoria, me la pasé haciendo chistes y jueguitos que duraron un par de días. Uno de ellos terminó siendo muy divertido, y hasta pareció que la había estado preparando para el remate por días.
Siempre me gusta decir o hacer cosas tontas para medir la reacción de los chiquitos. Mientras pasábamos el finde en New York, nos ‘peleábamos’ y yo le decía que no me pusiera triste porque yo me hacía caca encima, que tenía un problema. Ella se reía y por supuesto me decía cosas ‘feas’, pero era muy obvio que la chiquita sabía que yo no hablaba en serio. Ese juego continuó durante nuestro viaje en auto a Virginia, con Sofi peleándome desde el asiento de atrás y yo haciendo puchero.
Una vez que llegamos a lo de mi hermano, y durante la cena, le pregunté a Sofi si se quería sentar conmigo, a lo que por supuesto respondió que no y se sento con Natalia. Yo entonces pretendí estar muy afectado por la situación y le pedí que ‘no me pusiera triste’, y que ella sabía por qué. La princesita comenzó a reirse nerviosa, y finalmente le contó a su prima lo que me pasaría si seguían ‘ofendiéndome’. Por supuesto, las dos salieron al ataque.
Yo comencé a ‘llorar’ hasta que de golpe dije ‘uh-oh’ y me quedé quietito. Sofía paró de pelearme, pero me miraba sonriendo, sabiendo que yo sólo me hacía el bobo. Cuando no me miraba, yo tomé una servilleta de papel y una cucharita, y le puse un poco de helado de chocolate, luego de lo cual la escondí detrás de mí. Cuando volvió a prestarme atención, saqué la servilleta, la miré y dije triste:
- Oh, man…
Deberían haberle visto la cara!!!! Se quedó mirándome, muy preocupado, por el resto de la velada, pero fue muy cuidadosa de poner algo de distancia entre ambos.
Ya les arruiné el helado de chocolate como postre? :-)
Since he arrived on the station in December, he has been entertaining us Canadians from above, whether he was conducting cool science experiments (by request from school kids), unveiling the new $5 and $10 bills (they are very pretty) or even becoming part of the first song ever written and recorded in space, in collaboration with the Barenaked Ladies. It was a memorable tenure for our fellow Canadian astronaut, one that we will hardly forget.
Oh, he took BEAUTIFUL pictures from above as well, including this one of our region.
Chris Hadfield, Canadian icon, welcome back. Earth salutes you. And this humble blog declares you one of the coolest Canadians ever.
More info about Chris Hadfield can be found in Pauly’s blog (in Spanish).
Desde que llegó a la estación en Diciembre, nos ha entretenido a todos los canadiences, ya sea conduciendo experimentos de ciencia muy buenos (a pedido de los chicos en las escuelas), presentándonos los nuevos billetes de $5 y $10 (muy lindos) y hasta siendo parte de la primera canción escrita y grabada en el espacio, en colaboración con los Barenaked Ladies. Fue una estadía memorable la de nuestro astronauta, una que difícilmente olvidemos.
Ah, y también sacó HERMOSAS fotos desde arriba, como la de nuestra región que se ve arriba.
Chris Hadfield, ícono de Canada, bienvenido. La Tierra te saluda. Y este humilde blog te declara uno de los canadienses más ‘cool’ que conozcamos.
Más sobre Chris Hadfield en el blog de Pauly’s.