Two recent examples. I phoned my daughter, and her small son answered the phone.
Me: Hello, Max. Is Mummy there?
Max: Yes.
Long pause while I wait for me daughter, then:
Me: Max?
Max (still there): Yes?
Me: Could I speak to her, please?
And off he went to fetch her. Because, of course, I hadn't asked to speak to her; I'd only asked if she was there. And he'd answered my question and was (presumably) politely waiting for the next one.
Second example. We had two grandsons, aged 8 and 9, staying over half-term. I asked them to go and run their bath, and I would be up in a minute. Off they went. But when I went to check, they had certainly run the bath - gallons of hot water were pouring in - but I hadn't asked them to put the plug in, so the bath was empty.
I shall know better next time.
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Lovely! One of my sons did exactly the same to my mum when she phoned! It must be a boy thing :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the one about the bath - hope you're not on a meter! x
Maybe you could train the boys as editors - they'd make sure you wrote exactly what you meant.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, there wasn't a lot of hot water left!
ReplyDeletePatsy, I'm not sure they have the imagination...
The Devil is in the details:)
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! I love their perfect logic.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was about ten, my mother asked me to keep an eye on my her friend's four-year-old daughter. I was told she would like me to teach her some ballet steps to pass the time. Her mother said she should copy everything I did.
For hours this little girl faithfully did just that. Not just the demi-plies and the polka, but every scratch, every yawn, every single movement I made. It was like looking in a mirror for a whole day.
Aw, I love the logical and literal way children look at the world. That's funny, too, Joanna!
ReplyDeletefantastic!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
I'm afraid my individual reply thingy isn't working. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteEnglish Rider, too true!
Joanna, it sounds as though you had a fun day!
Rosemary, I suppose it makes sense. When I was a child, I had a book about a little boy who was told to 'look after' a puppy. He did just that. He looked and looked, and eventually it disappeared. Had hadn't been told to follow it when it ran off.
Thanks, Colette and Anna!
It made me smile and think! It does make sense after all!
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of some of my residents with dementia. I love those moments!
Doris