Nao Falo Muito Bom

I've been working the last few weeks to woo a little refugee girl in LM's class. She came from Africa in December and was thrown into life here not having appropriate clothing, knowledge of our language or customs, or a large community from which to draw strength. At first I didn't know she was a refugee, she was just the kid who cried in a corner everyday and whose back I rubbed even though she wouldn't even look at me. "What's up with the new kid?" I eventually asked LM's teacher. She gave me a brief rundown of the kiddo's history, and my heart broke. But through our chat I found out that she and I have a small thing in common-- and I chalked it up to a "God thing".

"Oi, menina! Eu falo um poco de Portugues! Fala conmigo! Tudo bem?" She stared at me, wordless-- shocked. Who knew there are Africans who speak Portuguese-- and that I have a barely passable ability to speak it as well? And even though she'd never talk to me in return, I noticed she started to put herself in my general vicinity whenever she got the chance, sneaking peeks at me under her hair-hidden eyes. Then, one day, she rattled off an almost inaudible string of words. I only caught a few, and I wasn't sure how to respond to her inquiry, but it was a small victory. And sometimes small victories lead to larger ones.

Speaking of victories...uh, no, there's actually no segue there. Here are some quotes:

1. LM: (talking about a neighbor's car that got stolen recently) "Robbers mostly just steal sweet rides, right Mom? And our ride is not so sweet."

(What?! Our brown minivan is not considered a sweet ride? I'm hurt.)

2. LM: (after being told it was time for homework) "But I'm not one of those dumb readers!"

(Oh, but you will be, you will be.)

3. LM: (upon becoming very frustrated while creating a Lego masterpiece) "Shucks! Shucks! SHUCKS!! Arggghhhhhh!! Shucks! SHUCKS! Shucks! Shucks!! STUPID SHUCKS!"

(That right there is tantamount to full-on sailor language in LM's mind.)

4. LM: "Mom, Chihuahuas are just little chews of the wawa's."

(Uhhh...wha'?)

5. M-i-L: "You're pretty good at math!"

LM: "Yeah, it's a special talent."

(Right up there with humility.)

6. LM: "Mom, I have an idea-- I'll trade you my $6 for your $10."

(I have an idea, too! No. Please say this isn't foreshadowing a government position in his future.)

7. Hubby: (following a long, hard search for our missing cell phone) "Thank you, Jesus! I found it! Nona, I think it fell out of my pocket when we were playing on the bed."

Ruby: (eyebrows raised in mild disgust) "You guys were...playing on the bed?"

(So suspicious! It was a fully-clothed smack down between two highly trained professionals. I think all the recent talk about sex at church has put her on red alert.)