Linnea and Sue
Oct. 8th, 2008 12:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheLinnea and Sue are not friends. They don't dislike each other, they just don't know each other. They hardly ever - if ever - see each other.
Linnea doesn't want to talk about what it was like at Sue's house. But Sue has a pony toothbrush, not a pirate one.
She's a trifle miffed that Sue was allowed to play with her dinosaur excavation toy. When Sue asked about it and tried to persuade me to allow her, I got the impression that this was a test, on two levels - did I take Sue seriously, and would I protect Linnea's interests - and I passed it then but forgot to warn Rob later.
"I am not Linnea, and you are not my mum" may be the most difficult thing I had to hear in all of this. It was said most firmly after 24 hours of Sue being here.
Linnea's not much impressed with Sue's drawing of her mummy, because the hands don't have proper fingers. Sue explained to me that her mum didn't have fingers but grasped things with just her hands. I didn't pass this on to Linnea; frankly, I've had enough of this.
I am very fond of all our four-year-old guests and pleased that when my four-year-old is a guest she's reasonably polite but it's hard to have her deny the relationship. After midnight I heard her stirring and crawled into her bed for a cuddle, for myself as much as for her. And this morning I told her I was pleased that Linnea came back.
It's also nice to get direct requests instead of "I wish there was a way to do [whatever]" and having to answer "Well, in this house we have a television / computer / toaster" sort of thing.
To those of you who suggested asking permission - I had a very bad reaction to the idea and I think it's because this is something which needs to be under Linnea's control. Yes, it's a pretend, but it is not a game or a joke, it's something serious and important, and although I don't understand it - at least partially because it upsets me - I need to let it happen. It's not like a friend coming to stay because Sue is not Linnea's friend.
If this happens again I will want to start reading about it. It's very very weird.
Linnea doesn't want to talk about what it was like at Sue's house. But Sue has a pony toothbrush, not a pirate one.
She's a trifle miffed that Sue was allowed to play with her dinosaur excavation toy. When Sue asked about it and tried to persuade me to allow her, I got the impression that this was a test, on two levels - did I take Sue seriously, and would I protect Linnea's interests - and I passed it then but forgot to warn Rob later.
"I am not Linnea, and you are not my mum" may be the most difficult thing I had to hear in all of this. It was said most firmly after 24 hours of Sue being here.
Linnea's not much impressed with Sue's drawing of her mummy, because the hands don't have proper fingers. Sue explained to me that her mum didn't have fingers but grasped things with just her hands. I didn't pass this on to Linnea; frankly, I've had enough of this.
I am very fond of all our four-year-old guests and pleased that when my four-year-old is a guest she's reasonably polite but it's hard to have her deny the relationship. After midnight I heard her stirring and crawled into her bed for a cuddle, for myself as much as for her. And this morning I told her I was pleased that Linnea came back.
It's also nice to get direct requests instead of "I wish there was a way to do [whatever]" and having to answer "Well, in this house we have a television / computer / toaster" sort of thing.
To those of you who suggested asking permission - I had a very bad reaction to the idea and I think it's because this is something which needs to be under Linnea's control. Yes, it's a pretend, but it is not a game or a joke, it's something serious and important, and although I don't understand it - at least partially because it upsets me - I need to let it happen. It's not like a friend coming to stay because Sue is not Linnea's friend.
If this happens again I will want to start reading about it. It's very very weird.