Today Gabriel was talking almost non-stop to me.
“Hey Mom, I've invented a new game like rock, paper, scissors do you want to learn it?”
“Sounds great let me get these groceries put away first, okay.” I bent down and grabbed a container of blueberries.
“So here how it goes.”
He continued to talk, I was trying to put the groceries away while starting Hannah's feed. There were messages on the machine. I'm horrible about messages I needed to listen to them. As I started the microwave heating up Hannah's water I heard Gabriel say.
“So what do you think Mom?”
“Gabriel, I need to finish what I'm doing first. When I'm finished you can tell me about it. I'm thinking about a few things I can't listen to you right now.” I know this from experience where I have been distracted by Gabriel and throw Hannah feeding schedule an hour to half hour off.
He began again explaining right after I started the message machine. So I realized a friend had called and got some of the instructions for the game he invented. I put away the rest of the groceries. Then I realized I'd only done Hannah beginning flush. (When feeding directly in a feeding tube a certain amount of water is required for digestion before and after. Since it cleans the tube in the after it is known as a flush.) Gabriel continued to talk it sounded elaborate. Hannah was interjecting yelps and giggles. I went to get the feeding pump from Hannah's room. I set it up in place. I realized I also needed to fetch a new feeding bag for the day. It is something I could of grabbed when I got the pump.
Gabriel was still going.
“Gabriel, I really need a few minutes please, I want to listen. I need to get Hannah eating and start your lunch.”
He kept going. I sighed internally trying not to feel like the worst mother in the world. When I was younger I could of listened to him, stay on task, and not got distracted. (Oh, I just realized my blood sugar was most likely low too. That does make multitasking difficult.)
So I realized he was just going to keep going and I was going to ask him to repeat it all. I had already warned him several times that I could not focus on what he was saying.
Eventually, Hannah was contently chewing on a duplo lego, Gabriel was eating a peanut butter sandwich and I was eating some soup.
“So Gabriel, what is this game your trying to tell me about?”
“It's called ghost, human and flashlight. Maybe you could write about it on the blog tonight.”
“Well see.”
“Ghost defeats human, human defeats flashlight and flashlight defeats ghost.”I was impressed. Internally I ration that a ghost would scare a human, a human can use a flashlight and the light from a flashlight traditionally defeats creatures of the dark. “OK, how do you show them”
He stood his index finger and middle finger on the table to look like a walking figure. “This is a human!”
He suspended his hand above the table with his thumb and index finger touching. “This is the ghost see it flies.”
He curved his hand with the thumb touching the index finger like holding a flashlight. “This is the flashlight he swiveled his had as if shining a flashlight.”
“Very cool, Gabriel!”
“That's not it. I set up a playing board. We each have an action figure behind blockades. When we loose either the blockade is demolished or one of the figures arms go up. When both arms are up on your figure is used up and you lose. Toss it into the box.”
“OK, let's try it after lunch.”
--Mom
