Saturday, March 24, 2012

Happily Waiting....Not.

I once asked a five year old friend to tell me what the word patient means.  
She said, "Patient means happily waiting."
Isn't that a great answer? 
I am here to tell you that I am NOT happily waiting as we go through the maze of getting set up with the next neurosurgeon in Charlottesville.  
I will not get an award for patience on Awards Night.  (When is that again?)
But....And so....life goes on...
Just this morning Taylor and I were out walking when we crossed paths with two lovely church ladies.  Honestly, I just wasn't in the mood. 
They had their pamphlet ready from 20 feet away. 
I needed a plan---other than being rude. 
So, here it is:  I pretended to speak only French---which left them with just Taylor with whom they could share and try to converse (Spoiler: Not very successfully).
I said, in French: "Je me demande s'il est dangereux de patiner aujourd'hui."
Which means (in french) "I wonder if it's dangerous to skate today."
The two very kind Christian ladies glanced at one another and smiled knowingly as if I had a mysterious and fatal disease.
Just to confirm that I would not be joining in the (English)  Jesus conversation, I solidified my french heritage by asking, "A que fait ce château appartient?"  
 Which, of course means, "To whom does this castle belong?" (As far as I can remember from Ecouter et Parler  Book 1 in 10th grade.)
I think I had the nice church ladies convinced that I was, in fact, an older, visiting au pair, now graciously walking her "charge".   Ah, bon!
Taylor was handed the pamphlet and invited to join them at worship. 
They asked him, "Young man, how do you know Jesus?"
Taylor  stared, then replied,  "Boo."
That's pretty much what he says these days.
I wonder what they thought.  Mon Dieu.
At least he has the literature for further reading. 
But anyway, I had to get home so I could continue not being patient--and brushing up on my French.
I love this world we live in.  So many people on our paths.
Ecoutez. Yes, listen.
And speak in your favorite language.
Boo.