Forbidden Planet

For those who don't know, Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec (located in that northern country known as Canada). Quebec is a French province and Montreal is mostly French as well. On Sunday, as the kids and I were walking downtown, we passed a man begging with a sign. As we passed, Tania asked me, "Why does he say he's ugly?" I asked what she meant and she said, "His sign says, 'Je suis laid'" . She further explained that laid means ugly. I had seen the sign but did not understand the first part since I didn't know what laid meant and I assumed (incorrectly) the kids didn't either. The rest of the sign (which I did understand) said ... help me out and I can get a facial. (ok, it said it in French not English). The word came up again last night as Jason was reading to me Les Trois Boucs : "... un ogre tres laid et très méchant ..." ("... a very ugly and very mean ogre ...") . It is pronounced the s...

Today, Princess Tania turns 9.

Tania did poorly on an English test last week and Sofia is quite upset. On the other hand, I completely empathize with Tania because she interpreted the test instructions the way I would have. The test was divided into a number of sections, with each section consisting of a number of multiple choice questions. The instructions were to select only one answer . Which she did - selecting one multiple choice answer in each section. Unfortunately, she was supposed to select one answer per multiple choice question, consequently, most questions went unanswered. To me, her response was correct. She was given a precise instruction which she followed. It didn't make sense to her, but then again people rarely make any sort of sense. The world is filled with all sorts of arbitrary rules and inconsistent behaviours and positions that this one was hardly worth batting an eye at. Hopefully, she will add this to her repertoire of possible exceptions to the inconsistencies of the world and request ...

"No," I said, "and I am not going to buy you any candy, chocolates or chips." "Da-a-a-d, will you buy this gum for Jason?" Tania asked. "Smooth," said the cashier.

What? Does he, like, cut it everyday?" Tania, my 8 year old daughter, commenting on our neighbour yet again mowing his lawn. He is retired. He has been for a while, but this year he has become obsessive about all manner of yard work. It may be a consequence of his suffering a heart attack earlier this year. Sofia says she has seen him mowing the lawn twice a day (morning and evening).

Today is Tania's birthday and she is 8 years old. I still remember when she was born, when I held her in my arms. She is my princess and always will be, no matter how old we get. Picture is of Tania and two of her cousins. Photo credit: Richard of Forbidden Planet.