Thursday 13 - Growin' Up in Mozambique

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Esmé’s Mommy here.
Esmé had an “accident” late this afternoon on our bed that went all the way through the duvet, pillow, sheets, and mattress. Let that be a lesson to anyone who thinks it is cute when their babies escape during diaper changing sessions.
And of course when the duvet was in the washing machine, something weird happened and the water overflowed all over the garage. So now I’m waiting for the duvet to dry, and I don’t want to think about the garage.
Let’s think about good things, instead. The dog still has not eaten the bunnies! He literally salivates every time I let them out of their cage. And those things eat, let me tell you! I’m feeding them three times a day and they don’t leave a drop, a scrap, in their cage. Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?
On to Thursday Thirteen – how you know you’re a 15-month-old American bebe growin’ up in Mozambique.

1. You fall asleep while riding on the potholed roads and wake up on the smooth tarmac. And you pray before every drive in the car – even just around the block.
2. Going to the doctor for shots is an all-day excursion across the border. And when you get funny bumps on you, you’re treated for both chicken pox and fly maggots.
3. You have to add pages to your passport before you’re 15 months old.
4. You spent your first Christmas at the beach eating sand.
5. You know the word “no” in four languages.
6. The first animal you REALLY saw in the wild was a giraffe. And one of your first words was "monkey." And you know the sound a monkey makes for "Old MacDonald."
7. Your first pet dog is a vicious looking Rottweiler mix watchdog with a reputation for biting (though never you, of course).
8. You complain about cold water in your bath, only to have Mommy tell you to be glad you didn’t have to carry that water 2 miles on your head.
9. The first fruits you ate were mango and papaya. And you never ate Cheerios until you were 13 months old. And when you don’t eat your food and your Mommy tells you she’s going to give your dessert to the starving children in Africa, she means it. Literally.
10. You sleep under a mosquito net. And you started using mosquito repellent long before you were “old enough.”
11. There is ALWAYS sunscreen in your diaper bag. All year long.
12. As far as you know, Shoprite is the only grocery store in the world. And you always check the ice cream before you buy it to make sure it hasn’t melted and been refrozen.
13. You know that frangipani blossoms are edible.

I was looking for something profound, like “You know what it means to share with those in need” or “You know how blessed you really are,” but at 15 months, I think those types of lessons still escape the little mind . . .
The best I could come up with is "You know it's just as much fun to play in the dirt and ant hills with the village kids as as it is to watch Sesame Street on the BIG screen TV with your rich buddies." And she DOES know that.