"Cathy, I'm going to be honest with you. I'd rather you pick up your shoe and hit me in the face then talk to me about something I've done wrong".-Hanni
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"Ms, when I'm quiet you ask me what's wrong. When I talk you tell me to shut up! Gawd!!!" -Yusef
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I'm explaining to them that I like to try and resolve any conflict before bedtime because a part of me is terrified that they won't come home after school the next day if they're still upset.
Hanni looks at me with big eyes and says he'll always come home.
Yusef, "Ms, if we ever go to bed and I'm still mad, I'm disappearing. You'll never see me again".
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Yusef and Hanni are in the backseat talking wistfully about the height of the players on an all-white U-15 team they played. The kids were very tall.
Yusef: White people grow very big.
Hanni: Yeah, right, and TALL.
Yusef: I know.
[Thoughtful pause]
Yusef: It's because their family cooks cheese burgers.
Hanni: And they eat Subway!! I don't like Subway.
Yusef: They don't sleep either. They like to play video games and watch TV all night.
Hanni: But white people get sooo big. Cheeseburgers.
You are amazing, my dear friend, as always. Thank you for reminding me of this amazing blog -- my own soccer-mom life infringes too much, sometimes, and I'm glad to be able to read about yours instead!! Your boys sound amazing, just like their mama.
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