Good Bye MJ - you will be missed!

I struggled about putting up a post about the King of Pop. But after watching snippets of the memorial this week, I am overwhelmed with nostaligia and frustrated at the media coverage of the passing of this music legend.

My husband and I grew up listening to BAD and the news of the death of Michael Jackson on June 25th, 2009 brought up a feeling of immense sadness. When we heard the news, that evening, Father Bear and I , began crooning to the Man in the Mirrror much to Little Bear's amusement. Little Bear, I hope you will enjoy his songs and like your parents did try to mimic the moonwalk.

The questions that emerged after his death about his personal life are both sad and unnecessary. Let's celebrate the best part of his life, his biggest contribution to the world - his music.

In this bear household the biggest questions revolve around death. Why do people die? Is it only old people? Amma- I don't want you to die and the biggest one - Amma - I don't want to die.
How do you explain death to a 3 year old, I asked my mom. Her recommendation was to use the power of distraction and evade the question. He's too young to grasp the concept she said. That's the Indian way, I retorted. I want to be able to offer an explanation which is not based on any religious beliefs. Still looking for an answer but until I find it I'll have to go with my mom's way.

Astronaut soup

Here's a recipe from the budding chef - Little Bear..

Take some jeera in a pan.
Put some chilly powder and then ginger.
Put eggplant and stir.
Add turmeric powder.
Add water and let it boil. Then add a drop of orange juice and apple juice.

Then add milk to it. Stir well. Then add curry leaf and coriander. Then filter the leaves out.

Why is it called astronaut soup you ask ... Because you add milk to it and it becomes white

The Interview

I found this post and I thought that it was a neat idea. So, one evening armed with the an mp3 recorder I decided to record Little Bear's first interview ..You can listen to it here

here is the print version:

What makes me happy? " When I do something you asked me to"

”What makes me sad? when I do something you don't want me to"

How do I make you laugh? "I don't know"

What do you think I was like as a child? “A kid”

How old am I? forty five four (?????)

How tall am I? "Very tall" (I wish 5 feet is tall. Note to self - add 'petite' to vocabulary)

What is my favorite thing to do? "Shop!"

What do I do when you’re not around? "Look for me!"

If I become famous, what will it be for? "What is famous? “I don’t know.”

What am I really good at? "Taking care of me" (Way to go!!! Who wants a Mother's Day gift!)

What am I not really good at? "Shopping!" (which means I need to shop more so I can get good at it)

What is my job? "To take care of me"

What is my favorite food? "Dal"

What makes you proud of me? "When I listen to you"

What makes me proud of you? "When I listen to you"

What do you and I do together? "Play. Play tag, hide-and-seek"

How are we the same? "We have the same skin"

How are you and I different? "Your teeth are half-teeth and mine are full" (translated - Mommy has cavities)

How do you know that I love you? "Because you call me my name"

What do you wish you could go and do with me? "Build a propeller plane!"

Ok! buddy Lets go build one!

Indian girl ...

Scene: Mother Bear trimming Little Bear's nails
Mother Bear latest endeavor is to turn the most mundane everyday things into opportunities to learn. So, in the spirit of the aforementioned passion, I proceeded to explain the names of each finger.
"this is your pinky"
"And this one is the ring finger. Its called so because you can wear a ring on it
"Oh yes! I am going to get married and wear a ring one day. Oh yes! Oh yes!" (
"And I'm going to marry an Indian girl "
An Indian girl! A pretend gasp followed. Actually this is music to my ears.
Why? An Indian girl?
because..because ..She has a red fire engine and is very nice and will let me ride it
Little Bear when you are no longer little and become a big bear you can bet we will remind you about this.