Why I Want To Dig Out My Mini Tape Recorder

Today Brian, Simon and I were in the car driving to Officeworks.  We had a number of conversations.  One major one which went for most of the journey was about growing up.  Brian's words were awesome.  Much more awesome than my memory can recall.  His matter of factness, his attitude, his authenticity.  Here's a little of what I can recall:

Brian:  What will I be called when I grow up?

Me:  You will be called Brian.  Your name doesn’t change.

B:  What will you call me?

M:  I’ll always call you Brian.  Or ‘my son’.  When you are older and have children they will call you Daddy.

B:  When I’m older I want to have children and a Mummy.

M:  Your children’s Mummy would be your wife.

B:  I’d like to have children and a wife.  And my wife will stay home and look after the children and make it all good (the meaning here was, she would look after him too) while I go to work in an office at ABC (enter real name of Kevin's work).

M:  Some children go to day care and their Mummies go to work.  That’s another option.

B:  My children will go to day care and my wife will work.  She will work with me, in the office next to me at ABC.  (giggles).  That will be great.  What will you do then?

M:  I'll be working too.

B:  Great.  You can work in an office next to me too.  There will be Daddy in his office, me in my office, my wife in her office and you in your office.

M:  What will Simon be when he grows up?

B:  A car.  (a little later)  He can work with us too.  When I work in the office I'm going to work next to Tim (Kevin's real life boss).

M:  Tim's the boss.  It's up to him which office you are in.

B:  Owh.  (giggles a bit)  Oh, I hope ABC is around then.  Yeah, it will be.

M:  (Happy I'm in the front seat concealing my laughter).

And then another conversation about Daddy, who is going to China for work next week.  (I didn't even know he knew)  :

B:  When Daddy comes home from China will he speak differently?  (I'm trying to recall if he said Chinese)

M:  No.  It takes a long time to learn a language.  Especially Chinese.  That’s very hard for us to learn.

B:  Will he dance Chinese?  (pause)  Um, can you dance Chinese?

M:  No, he wont.  (Brian quickly butted in)

B:  Have you been to China?

M:  No, but Pop has.

B:  Did Nanny go too?

M:  No, Pop went for work.

B:  Where does Nanny work?

M:  Nanny used to work at The Wesley Hospital.  Don't you remember?

B:  Owh, yes.

M:  But now Nanny is retired.  She doesn't work anymore.

B:  Why not?

M:  Because all your life you save money so then when you are older you can travel.  Or do what you want to do.

B:  When I'm older, after grade 12 and university I will work all over the world and help people in the shops.  (I think I'm merging this conversation with another one we had in the car yesterday).  

M:  (Thinking, that doesn't sound half bad).  But I would miss you so much.

B:  I'll work all over Australia. 

I love this stuff.  But my memory surely doesn't capture it the way it needs to be captured.  This is why I want to dig out my mini tape recorder and hide it in the car.  That and I can also capture Simon singing away to John Farnham.  He sings "down" at the perfect time in Pressure Down and all those "woahs" in You're The Voice.

(Image above is from our November road trip, our Officeworks drive is not quite as nice!)