teeny tiny

                                               

The Importance of a Good Attitude

My post this week is related to an event at my daughter’s kinder garden. It was her birthday and we decided, my daughter Julieta and I, it would be a good idea to have a small party at her classroom. Everybody was excited since they were going to get a balloon and eat delicious stuff, a cake included. Among my daughter’s classmates was Bruno, who was really interested in how it was that I had made the palitos salados we brought. He kindly agreed to lend my son his glass, since he was not going to have anything to drink, as he explained that it was actually a cup, not a glass, but it did the job anyway. Another classmate, Genaro, was very excited since it was one of her best friends’ birthday. As he saw us arrive in the classroom, he grabbed a chair and sat right next to Julieta. At his back there was a window open; there were other children playing outside, and one of them, with whom Genaro had a previous argument, peered closely at what we were doing. In that exact moment Genaro had to make a point clear in front of everybody, and he said what the other boy had called him. “He said I was…” and pronounced the worst of the worst four letter words in Spanish you can imagine (in fact it had seven letters). The teacher couldn’t believe her ears and then told him off.

And there she was, a girl with the sweetest big hazel eyes, curly hair and a missing front tooth, which she made me notice with her index. She was also very happy to have a birthday celebration and she told me about her being keen on colour purple. She wanted to make sure she would get a purple balloon, but she was afraid that someone took it before she did. I assured her that she would get one at the end of the school day. Fortunately there was a purple one left in the bag of balloons. I showed it to her and I told her that she must remind me to inflate it, since I would keep it in my pocket. She also asked for a balloon for her brother, since he was at the classroom next door. It was indeed what happened then, and she seemed very grateful for that.

The following day she arrived at the kinder garden with her mum. When she saw me she said to her mother: “she is the one. She is my friend.”

Every time he sees me she calls me out: “friend!” and she gives me a hug. I’m proud to say that with a teeny tiny attitude I have a new friend now, Azul, at least in this stage of her life.