Gauri: “Mum I need to go Potty”
Me: “Are you sure?”
Gauri: “Yes, I have to”
Me: “Then go”
Gauri: “No, you take me”
Me: “I can’t I am nursing Neel”
Gauri: “Pleeeeeeease take me, please come with me”
Me: “No Gauri, I cant honey, just go…..you cant do it on your own, you are a big kid now”
Gauri: “but there’s Bandar(monkey) in the Bathroom”
Me: with a little stress in my voice “Gaaaaauriii – there is NOBandar, don’t make up things, just go if you have to”
Note: Somehow Gauri is scared of monkeys, and I really have no idea why and where did she get this in her head, but suddenly one day she stared saying –monkeys will hurt me…We were worried at first and asked her why she thinks so, but then we thought it probably is normal for kids her age to get the concept of being scared sometimes.So anyway,
Gauri: “Will Hanuman ji ask Bandar to go away?”
Note:Me: “sure, yes He will”
As per Hindu mythology, Hanuman ji is an incarnation of God in the form of an Ape. He is considered the one who has the powers to take away all difficulties/ fight demons for anyone who prays unto Him
Gauri steps down from the bed and stands at the door whispering
“Hanuman ji open the door”
“please open the door for Gauri”
Now with stress in the voice:
“Please open the door Hanuman ji”
“Hanuman ji – open the door for Gauri, I have to go potty”
I was trying to avoid talking since Neel was trying to fall asleep in my lap, but then I had to intervene between Gauri and her Hanuman ji conversation
Me: “Gauri Hanuman ji does not open the door, you open it and go”
So she finally did go.
After a few minutes I hear Gauri again:
“Hanuman ji please give toilet paper to me”
“Hanuman ji ??”
“Hanuman ji I need toilet paper”
“Hanuman ji please give toilet paper”
“Oh god - Hanuman ji please give me paper towel”
After asking Hanuman ji for several minutes, I guess Gauri took the Toilet paper own her own and very disappointed-ly came back to me. BY now Neel was asleep and I was free to talk to her.
Me: “Gauri are you okay, did your potty?”
Gauri: “yea, but Hanuman ji did not give me toilet paper mama”
Me: “Its Okay Gauri”
Gauri: “I don’t think Hanuman ji can scare away the monkeys if he cant open the door and give toilet paper to me”!!
She was quite disappointed that night and I was half laughing and half wondering what and how am I to explain such complex things like “God” to an inquisitive kid like my little “Sweet-pea”.
She slept disappointed but I slept smiling thinking about this funny dialogue.
Since I have no pictures from that day, here are a couple of new ones of all of us.