If You Can't See Me.......
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Sofia loves riding her bicycle around the cul de sac in front of our house. Should I arrive home early from work, she’d cheer in anticipation of whizzing around the neighborhood. Sometimes I leave work early just for that reason.
“Going back early today?”, someone is bound to ask on the way out.
“Yup, I got a date – with the prettiest girl in the world…….”
But she only gets to do so if one of us is able to keep an eye on her. By late afternoon, Lina is pretty much exhausted from taking care of both of them the whole day and she does not really relish the idea of keeping an eye on Sofia while she plays at being Eddie Mercx or Bernard Hinault. If it was Nazzim, it would be a different story. Him being a boy and twelve years old, the risks are much much lesser, provided of course he stays far far away from the main road and keeps his eyes open. Plus I’d ask him to check in every fifteen minutes or so simply to reduce our anxiety to zero.
But in Sofia’s case, no no no no no no. One of us will have to be there when she’s outside of the gate. I could be washing the car, I could be sweeping the garage or I could be cleaning the drains but every minute or so I’d look up and check where she is. Tasks take three times as long as I keep looking out for her.
Sometimes she’d be behind a car or some trees around the cul de sac, stopping to talk to friends or for whatever reason. I’d usually have an anxious minute or so before she gets back into view. Then it would be a forced check in for her.
“You know very well that you have to be where I can see you all the time. So, if you can’t see me, that means I can’t see you. Make sure you can see me all the time okay?”
There would be a slight tightening of the mouth and her face becomes expressionless. The young lady is not too pleased with the rebuke.
“Ok, go on now. Not too fast, look where you are going and please don’t stand on the pedals”.
That slight smile reappears and she’d go back to her cycling with vigour, her cheeks already turning a bright pink.
"I hope she remembers, if you can’t see me, that means I can’t see you."
Stay in my line of sight, please dear.
.
Sofia loves riding her bicycle around the cul de sac in front of our house. Should I arrive home early from work, she’d cheer in anticipation of whizzing around the neighborhood. Sometimes I leave work early just for that reason.
“Going back early today?”, someone is bound to ask on the way out.
“Yup, I got a date – with the prettiest girl in the world…….”
But she only gets to do so if one of us is able to keep an eye on her. By late afternoon, Lina is pretty much exhausted from taking care of both of them the whole day and she does not really relish the idea of keeping an eye on Sofia while she plays at being Eddie Mercx or Bernard Hinault. If it was Nazzim, it would be a different story. Him being a boy and twelve years old, the risks are much much lesser, provided of course he stays far far away from the main road and keeps his eyes open. Plus I’d ask him to check in every fifteen minutes or so simply to reduce our anxiety to zero.
But in Sofia’s case, no no no no no no. One of us will have to be there when she’s outside of the gate. I could be washing the car, I could be sweeping the garage or I could be cleaning the drains but every minute or so I’d look up and check where she is. Tasks take three times as long as I keep looking out for her.
Sometimes she’d be behind a car or some trees around the cul de sac, stopping to talk to friends or for whatever reason. I’d usually have an anxious minute or so before she gets back into view. Then it would be a forced check in for her.
“You know very well that you have to be where I can see you all the time. So, if you can’t see me, that means I can’t see you. Make sure you can see me all the time okay?”
There would be a slight tightening of the mouth and her face becomes expressionless. The young lady is not too pleased with the rebuke.
“Ok, go on now. Not too fast, look where you are going and please don’t stand on the pedals”.
That slight smile reappears and she’d go back to her cycling with vigour, her cheeks already turning a bright pink.
"I hope she remembers, if you can’t see me, that means I can’t see you."
Stay in my line of sight, please dear.
.
posted by dudae_simboyo at 14:29
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