Children

Last night was one of those beautiful evenings when I just couldn t resist going outside. So I took Paulines dog, Snoopy, for a walk around the neighborhood. Near the end of our evening stroll, we passed a house where two girls were playing in their front yard. As soon as she saw Snoopy - who happens to be a cute little black dog - the younger girl (around 6 or 7) ran across the street to take a closer look at him. Her sister followed right behind. They oohed and aahed and then asked me a question en francais. Oh uh, now I cant just smile and nod and pretend that I am a native of Chicoutimi. The younger sister said something about a name, so I answered with Je m appelle Miriam. When she looked at me quizically and repeated Miriam? I realized that she was probably asking about the dogs name. So I said Snoopy. And then they said Ah Snoopy! and oohed and aahed some more. And asked me another question... Finally, I had to admit: Je parl tres peu en francais! Now they really looked confused, but it didnt seem to bother them too much as they kept talking. Finally, I guessed that they were asking whether Snoopy was male or female. I said I didnt know (which, in retrospect is silly because Pauline is always referring to Snoopy as him).

I was sad when they gave Snoopy a final pat and skipped back to their play. How refreshing and how beautiful they were! I wish the family I am staying with had young children - I realized this week that I miss being around children. Perhaps I need this time to remember why it is that I am passionate about children so that I am geared up and ready to spend the next several months with kids!