The Life of a Ten-Year-Old

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ironic observation of the day - - a man dressed in jogging gear puffing on a cigarette while out on his morning run.

Lola has recently discovered the Waffle House chain of restaurants, and it is now her favorite place to eat (possibly even topping ‘Ding Ding’ aka Fuddrucker’s as Number One on her list). Her favorite food at Waffle House? Why, their waffles, of course! She doesn’t really like syrup, so she just eats the waffle with a little butter.

It has come to my attention over the last three months that burping, to a ten-year-old, is an art form. I hate to admit it, but I guess I must still have the ten-year-old mentality, because at times it is just downright FUNNY! However, the trick is to educate the child on when it is ok to burp and when it is NOT ok. We are still working on this. She’s beginning to understand that it is just not cool to burp loudly in the waiting area at the airport, but it’s going to take awhile for her to refrain from doing it in any large public restroom (as the acoustics there are usually ideal for burping, although while in high school I found the girls’ restroom at school to have that big concert hall sound when practicing my trumpet) or at the outdoor swimming pool.

I asked my friend Tracy at work the other day why burping is so hilarious to children, and she said “Children? My husband still thinks it’s funny!” ….Well, there you go…..

The problem with Lola is that she is one of those gifted (?) people who can conjure up a burp on the spur of the moment. All she has to do is swallow a little air and - - presto! There it is! I figured if she insisted on burping she may as well explore the creative side - - you know, like burping the alphabet and saying phrases (she really has mastered “good night” and “uh-oh” quite well). I do realize after knowing Lola for this long so far that the orphanage pretty much took care of the educational and basic needs of the children but didn’t go any further to instill simple manners. It is a process, and Lola has become quite comfortable now waiting in line and saying ‘excuse me’ and ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, which two years ago never existed in her realm. So perhaps someday, maybe when she is sixteen and trying to be a young lady, the burping will stop - - in public, anyway.