Sometimes, when my kids had said or done something funny or smart or both, I would write it all down, just to save it.  With these two short stories, I’m starting to publish everything I’ve accumulated over time.

Unicorns

– I was the group administrator on WhatsApp, and then the superadmin made me just a user, and then deleted me from the group at all! And now, for some reason, she’s added me back to the group”, – says my nine-year-old daughter Alice.

– You were Group administrator??? Wow, that’s cool! And what is the name of this group? – I ask in a moderately endearing way. After all, there are different groups on the Internet, and I’m curious about what kind of group it is and what people discuss there. I’m a little nervous, but I try not to disclose it.

– But the group doesn’t have a name, Mum, – replies my daughter Alice.

– What do you mean, it doesn’t have a name? Just Group and that’s it?

– Well, not really, – she replies, – there is a name, but you can’t read it, it’s made up of smileys, stars and unicorns, Mum! So the name is made up of emojis. Isn’t that great?

And I don’t know whether that’s good or bad, or what I should even say to her.

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The knowledge of English

This conversation with my twelve-year-old son took place here in Switzerland, about a year after we had arrived.

– Dima, English is a must this year! You must have forgotten everything you knew! – I hear myself telling him, quite emotionally.

– But I haven’t forgotten anything, mum. I always speak English with X and Y and Z, – he answers me in Ukrainian.

– You haven’t forgotten, really? Okay, then speak to me in English, okay? Tell me something, tell me what you have done today!

And Dima answers, this time in English:

– Ok, mom. Well, I woke up early in the morning, took my phone and I was surfing the Internet when my mom came into my room. Since then I’ve started having problems.