to buy a fresh hen! Actually today it was just fruits, vegetables, and bread! The weather is getting nicer, so we have been enjoying being outdoors. It was not so long ago that I was pushing the double stroller to the market and getting a serious workout. Now SA is walking and running next to the stroller all the way there and back. She says "Bonjour" very cheerfully to the boulangere so she can get a lollipop, and wants to go and visit our friends who have a shop in town after our shopping is completed (and she has visited the park, of course). My, we have come a long way! I remember when we first moved here and she was the baby in the stroller. Now CG is the one I am strolling around town with SA in tow as well.
After 2 and half years, I finally feel as if I really live here. We ran into several acquaintances at the market today with whom I chatted. I remember the days when I was so proud just to be able to ask for the bread that I wanted at the boulangerie and get the fruits and vegetables I needed from my veggie guy. Now that I know the shopkeepers around town and am "known" as well- probably as that strange American mom that can't speak French very well, but hey, at least she makes an effort, I feel that I am actually making progress in becoming part of the community. That is after all, an objective that I have had since we moved out from the city "a la compagne" (to the country). I am still working my way to integration- slowly but surely!
6 comments:
So, is it really bad to bribe my child to get her to be polite? Yesterday, I had to resort to the lollipop technique to get her to stay in the church nursery without screaming in protest hence disturbing the whole congregation. Hmmm. A matter for prayer...
I am all for the "whatever works" theory. Sometimes you have to use reinforcements. Ours is McD's for good church behavior.
I am so glad that you had a good day in town. Must be pretty cool.
The best part is that now the shopkeepers know we know each other! I love that. Great photo too§
!
you're not bribing her; you're training her by using rewards :) the vegetables look so beautiful. and i suppose they are from france and not from some other beastly place?
Learning to know and be known.....I'm glad you're experiencing a feeling of community!
"Discipline Them, Love Them" has a great chapter on rewards. It really clarified the method for me. If the possibility of the treat is presented *before* the "situation," as an incentive, then it's a reward when it's given *after* the good behavior. If your child is already laid out in a class III tantrum, actively disobeying, etc., and you use the treat to try and reign them back in from outside the line they've already crossed, then it's a bribe.
RPR
Abby, yes, the veggies are French. :)
That makes so much sense! thanks, Bec!
Post a Comment