I Dun Wanna Go Home

"Wo Bu Yao Hui Jia" - I do not want to go home.
That's Gracie's pet phrase. She loves to go on a trip. To the mall, to the library, to the beach, anywhere. And when it is time to return home, she will be wailing that she don't want to go home. Sometimes, that's the first thing she says upon leaving the house. All our neighbours are familiar with her tantrums at the playground by now. My wife suffers from backache - just confirmed as slipped disc. So she could not forcibly carry Gracie home from the playground. She will often summon me to do so. Initially, it is easy to distract Gracie by talking about other things, perhaps relating to her recent experience with things and people, and through that, get her to go home peacefully. A few times, I lost my temper, resorting to threats and angry tone. And found that Gracie is very stubborn indeed. Threats just do not work. Now, it is an exercise in tact and tactic. No wonder, people says that good parenting is good leadership.

Yes, she has grown. She is two years and seven months old now. I cannot remember when she starts talking but the first word she uttered was "kai" - to open. Referring to snack packs. She loves snacks especially peanuts and potato chips. I like potato chips too but I had to give it up as I do not want she to eat too much snacks. As it is, she has problem with bowel movement. I had to send her to the child hospital thrice already. She simply refuses veg and water. It is only lately she learned the association between not drinking water, not eating vegetables and the painful episodes of constipation. That is another story. A long long story indeed.