Spending time with Seth

Seth and I (Mommie) spend a lot of time together. Partially, it’s that two nights a week Jon takes the big kids to swimming lessons, so we’re left to our own devices. And partially, it’s that Seth already has good sheep-dog instincts, separating Mommie from the herd and shepherding her away for his own personal one-on-one enjoyment. Then, there’s the fact that Seth and Mommie have about the same amount of appreciation for high culture (e.g., art, architecture). That is to say, no appreciation whatsoever. So while the big kids + Jon are off enjoying the fruits of Europe, Seth and I spend a lot of time together.

This weekend was one of those instances. But while I’ve come around to actually enjoying and looking forward to his company, after about six hours the charm wears off. Why? To put it delicately, my toddler Never. Shuts. Up. It wouldn’t be so bad if he were just talking to himself; occasionally, for instance, he’ll launch into the “trucks with cranes on them” song and happily sing (off-key) to himself for awhile. I really enjoy these moments. But mostly he just wants to have a conversation, toddler-style. This mainly entails asking lots and lots of questions, typically ones that are nearly impossible to answer for a 3-year-old. Here’s a sample from today’s bus ride:*

Why bus not moving?

Why train not moving?**

What’s that noise?

Why bus stop?

Why people get on?

Why he have no hair?****
What she doing?

Why bus driver drive crazy?*****

Why there girl bus driver yesterday?*****

Why dogs have no hands?

What uno mean?

What dos mean?

What ochonueve mean?

Why red light mean stop?

What yellow light mean?*******

This only stopped when a gaggle of teenagers got on the bus and started playing rap music (“This my favorite song!”)

* Every day spent alone with Seth involves at least one post-nap bus ride. Luckily, there’s two buses that do a 40-minute loop starting at our apartment, making for a very convenient outing. I've begun thinking of them as my "sunset rides" -- for about $1, I get a 40-minute tour each night at sunset.

** We pass an old diesel engine parked in the middle of a roundabout on our bus loop

****Sometimes Mommie is thankful that nobody in our neighborhood speaks English.

*****Ditto.

*****Most Madrid bus drivers are male, so Seth noticed when one day there was a female bus driver. And while we’re talking about bus drivers, random sociological note: other than their smoking habit, Madrid bus drivers appear to be in 10x better shape than Boston-area bus drivers.

*******Mommie made the mistake of telling a toddler that the yellow light means both slow down and, because we live in Boston, speed up. This is clearly too much for a toddler to comprehend, and thus this question gets asked over and over.