Mistaken Identity

I love to tell visitors the story of Claire's life. No matter how many times I tell it, it never looses it's excitment. Goosebumps never fail to appear on my arms at the most critical points, and I can feel my heartbeat quickening as I tell how she almost died. Twice.

Then, depending on what time it is, the visitor may get to actually meet Claire. Maybe she's in preschool, and sends a sweet smile to the new faces as she concentrates on her snack or puzzle. Sometimes she's in the playroom, goofing off with her sisters or cuddling her little brothers. Or maybe, like the other day, she's sneaking into the kitchen to snatch an apple slice off of the counter before snack time.

Claire is very much a princess. She carries herself about regally, but there's a spunky, mischievous part of her personality as well. Brian, one of the foreign staff, was talking to Claire the other day. His beard was fuller than usual, but besides that he was the same "ShuShu" (uncle) she knew. Claire chose to pick a little fun at Brian, though, so she coaxingly called to him, "YeYe." YeYe means Grandpa in Chinese.

“I'm not Yeye, I'm ShuShu!" Brian said.

"YeYe"

"No, ShuShu"

"YeYe"

"Claire, I'm not your YeYe."

"NaiNai"

'NaiNai' means grandma in Chinese. Was Claire confused? Or maybe she's more mischievously clever than we thought. What do you think?