Among Us

You're not supposed to have favorite clients or get too emotionally attached, and for the most part, I abide by these rules. Except when it comes to my little 5 year-old sugar pie. He moved the US barely a year ago and used to whisper to me in Spanish during group activities when he first arrived and was confused by everything. He has since gained an (almost) complete understanding of the English language as well as a whole hell of a lot of confidence. He still holds my hand though and jumps into my arms on a weekly basis. And sometimes tells me that he misses me, and I melt into a puddle.

A few weeks ago, he told me a story about theses scary monsters on TV. Kids have the ability to talk for minutes uninterrupted, and I have to admit that I have developed a nasty skill of tuning them out when they are describing TV shows or movies. I hate it when adults do it, and it is even more confusing and unbearable when children try to explain plots to shows that I will never watch.

After a few minutes of planning what to eat for dinner that night while he sweetly relayed information in the background, I realized that he was possibly describing the Loch Ness Monster and other water dwelling creatures. And then he floored me with his language acquisition and said, "And the man on the TV said that they still live among us today. Cool, right?"

I thought, whoa. Did he just use the phrase "among us?" So I prodded a little to see if he was simply repeating the phrase or if he knew what he was saying.

"They live among us? Really?"
"Yes. Among us."
"Does that scare you? Or give you nightmares?"
"I mean, is among us in this world?"
"Well, yes in a way, I guess it is."
"Ok because I decided that I kind of want to go to mungus, but I am a little scared too"
"Oh really?" (I was trying to figure out what he was saying)
"Yeah. I mean, if my dad wants to go to mungus, then I want to tell him to be careful, but he could go there if he wants to see the monsters."

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And those are the less heavy days when kids are sweet and innocent and words are new and exciting.