Monday, May 28, 2007

9am pálinka never seemed so deserved

Being a Cali-kid I never really experienced thunderstorms and lightning. Nor for that matter did I ever really experience rain out of season, which in California is late fall - winter; it just does not rain in warm weather, what with being a desert and all.

Which is how I found myself sitting on the balcony last night at 11pm watching the most amazing lightning/thunder combo ever. Even when hail the size of gobstoppers began pelting my forearms and head, I could not quit the storm. It is simply amazing to my virgin eyes; I realized I would be able to withstand the disgusting humidity if the lightning is this spectacular.

I may, however, not be able to withstand the serious emotional roller coaster everyone seems signed on for when the humidity reaches its peak: everyone, in my extended family at least, gets all snappy and short the hotter and wetter it gets. Something done in an act of kindness is twisted and thrown in your face or you're schooled like a child for arbitrary allowances.

Or both.

It started on Friday, I guess, when Zoli and I purchased a present for Julia. We thought nothing of it, I mean GAWD, the kid has to wait eternities for things because we're never sure which country we'll be in and whether we should buy something here or there. Apparently, the MIL thought it an extreme waste of money and rather than tell this to Zoli, she waited until we were alone together to throw it in my face the fact that we have "so much money to waste." Her words, translated of course, not mine. Yes, we have money. We worked really hard: first at saving the damn stuff by not buying anything save essentials, and secondly at making it last. Again, by only buying essentials.*

But I digress.

Add to the fact that I cannot really respond besides shrugging my shoulders and harrumphing. Add to that his aunt and sister telling me that I'm not teaching my daughter how to write properly because she writes her /s/ and /j/, /4/ and /5/ backwards. I tried to reason that at 5 it doesn't matter that her letters are often confused, the important thing is that is resembles the character it is meant to denote. But they weren't buying it, they began to argue with me over how stupid my kid would turn out if I didn't stop and tell her she's "doing it wrong."

Ah, yes so wisdomous I could cry. I did.

*I read somewhere that the average couple (average salary, average expenses, minimal debt) is able to save around 11,000 dollars a year. We saved close to thirty. That is some hard shit to do, let me tell you.

4 comments:

Kit said...

Hope that weather lifts and with it everyone's moods.

My son wrote his name beautifully backwards at that age. I had all the secret worries about dyslexia, but luckily he was at a Waldorf kindergarten where they're not expected to learn to write until they're 6 going on 7, so no-one made a big deal out of it. Now at 9 he is writing very neatly. Definitely don't listen to them, she's not doing it wrong at all - a lot of kids start off reversing letters and correct themselves eventually by imitation.

Impressed with your saving achievement!

5penny said...

I know! It was like they thought she needed those skills tomorrow for an exam or something! Or that she would forever write those backwards.
Craziness.

Marigold said...

Ay yi yi! That makes me glad my MIL lives in another country. Far away! Don't listen to them, it's your girl. And, YOU saved that money, so you can spend it how you like. Good lord, are they jealous of a little girl? or jealous of y'all for being able to buy that present.

Unknown said...

People can't resist opening their mouths sometimes, they may mean well but kids develope at different rates & the writing thing is no big deal. My MIL tried to tell me if my son wasn't toilet trained at age two he might never be, preserve me from turning into a member of the older generation, I want to keep my mouth shut with my DILs when the time comes.