Miscommunication

The last few days, I've been following the saga of the trapped miners in Australia. A little over two weeks ago, an earthquake caused a cave in at a gold mine. Fourteen miners escaped, and one was killed. Two miners were missing. Miraculously, after 5 days, the two missing miners were found alive but trapped far underground. It took 9 more days to free the trapped men. On the day the miners were finally liberated, I was anxious to see news coverage of their release.

I don't normally watch TV news, but I hoped to see video of the rescue. After not finding much on the American news channels, I went online to look for news clips. The next day, I again went looking for more information on the "morning shows."

While watching a news update, my 11 year old daughter asked if I had found more information about "the boys."

I reply, "What boys?"

She responds, "You know, the ones that were trapped."

I then explain, "They aren't boys, but grown men with wives and children."

My daughter gave me a puzzled look. "But you said they were minors."

I took the opportunity to explain the difference between "minors" and "miners."

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This incident reminds me not to assume that my children understand what I say or interpret events in the same way as adults.

Recently, my husband and I started using the hall bathroom for showers. The shower in the master bath needs to be fixed (which reminds me I need to call the fix it guy today.) Anyway, over the last month or so, my husband has once or twice used my pink fluffy bathrobe when he went back and forth between our bedroom and the hall bathroom. I must add that my husband has an aversion to wearing pastel colors and pink in particular.

Because I have all daughters, I'm usually not so careful about modesty and just wrap myself in a towel when returning from the shower to the master bedroom. A few days ago, I ended up actually using my pink fluffy bathrobe.

Upon seeing me in the bathrobe, by 5 year old daughter questioned, "Mommy, why are you wearing Daddy's bathrobe?" I couldn't wait to tell Henry that one.

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Going back about 5 years ago, my middle daughter had a similar hiccup in perception. She had a Minnie Mouse rain poncho. It had a red hood with mouse ears and the coat was covered in big white polka dots. To go with it, she had a pair of bright red boots with a buckle. The first time she wore the coat and boots together, she turned to me and said, "Mommy, I look like a policeman!"

Uhhh? Can you just picture a policeman out in the rain directing traffic in that outfit? That's the picture that pops into my mind every time I see a policeman directing traffic. I think to my young daughter's point of view, her outfit reminded her of the shiny boots and rain ponchos policemen sometimes wear when directing traffic in drizzly weather.