The Child

I have lived in my house for a little more than a year now. I have my own apartment in a nice cubic house in a very calm area. The house has two other apartments (the one habitated by the family that owns the house, and the other by the owner's grandmother). So it is pretty much me, and "the family". I feel very welcome though, and almost a part of their family now. This especially due to the small miracle of Hampus. He is the child of the family, and the cutest child you've met (unless you have children of your own, cause then you probably refer to your own child as the cutest). I think Hampus will be "my" cutest child until I actually get some of my own. Until I met him, I actually didn't know I had the possibility to regard children as cute at all. Lately I am frequently also dreaming about being pregnant/having babies, and more often now than before I am not filled with complete panic and anxiety by the dream. Stupid subconcious! I don't want to mention 'biological clock' in this context, but...

He is coming down to my flat hanging out at least once a week. Knocks, and when I open, he timidly asks if he can come in for a while. He is so smart, and perceptive. I had no idea kids knew stuff that was going on, I just thought they were oblivious to everything and just played the whole time. I know now that he realises that his parents are treating him a bit weird sometimes, that his father buys his love with gifts instead of what he really needs, attention. I confides a lot in me, and I can't help feeling flattered. When he has had a disagreement with someone in his family he sometimes asks if he can live with me. We play a lot, go for walks, go to the cinema, bakes cakes, I teach him about how there is nothing innately wrong with swearing and how parents not always are right, but you still have to follow their rules sometimes. He tells me how boring classes in school is, because you have to sit still for a long while. I tell him that school is very important, and you will learn stuff that might not seem necessary at the moment, but that you will be happy about knowing later. He is very honest, tells me that it is time to hoover, and how he knows other people that are funnier than me. He tells me nice things too, about how he loves the smell of my apartment, and once he actually said 'I love you'. In english. And this from a now 6-year-old swedish boy. Everytime we are finished hanging out, he hugs me. He is so sensitive, and I dread that other boys might soon start to tease him for this. But I am sure he'll be fine, he is strong!

This afternoon he came over. I was just about to start boiling some black beans, so he helped me out. He made disliking faces when I took all the chili out (12 red chilies, and 6 habaneros), and he also explained to me how he didn't like stock cubes, or beans. I told him that when he gets older he'll be wiser and change his mind in the matter. He pointed at a red lentil and asked what the little thing was, I explained how it was a lentil, and how good it was. He said he didn't like them, and I told him that I was certain that he never had tried them, and how he was wrong anyway, because they are absolutely delicious. He also loves cute cat (who wouldn't). He plays with him a lot. And pets him, and hugs him too. We ate clementines and chatted, and coughed in stereo when the chili finally filled the air. He thought it was funny that it made you cough. Soon I will start forcing him to eat beans, he too needs to get hooked on the best soup in the world, or as I commonly refer to it 'The Soup'. Tomorrow I will tell you all about it, so don't forget to drop by to get the recepie and be convinced that you have to cook it!