Fried Nuts

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child...”

SHIRIN: 4 years old

FREDERICK: 2 1/2 years old 

Frederick enters the front room to play his drums.  Shirin is standing in the middle of the room pushing out her belly.

Frederick: Shaween, augh doooooooing? (Shirin, what are you doing?)

Shirin:  I think I am a big bully. (I think I have a big belly)

Frederick: Ot-a-in. (Not again)

Shirin:  I ate too much green strings. (I ate too much string beans)

Frederick: I-a-a Dreget Drum! (I’m going to drum on Frederick’s Drums!)

Frederick starts to play his drums.  Shirin dances to the music with her “big belly”.  A fly decides to join the fun.  Frederick spots the fly, stops drumming and screams.

Frederick:  Beeeeeee!  Beeeee!

Shirin: It’s a fry because it is back.  (It’s a fly because it is black!)

Shirin disappears for a second and reappears with a fly swatter.

Frederick: Shubel?  (Is that a shovel?)

Shirin: It’s a fried sweater that fights bugs! (It’s a fly swatter that fights bugs!)

Frederick watches Shirin as she tries to swat the fly.  Shirin uses her best fighting sounds as she swings the fly swatter around in the air and hits various surfaces in the room.  Shirin ends every swat with a fighter pose.  The “fight” makes Frederick giggle.  The giggles become a nervous cry-like giggle every time the fly gets too close to him.  After many attempts Shirin finally makes contact.  

Shirin: I got it!

Frederick points to the fly.

Frederick: Her name? (What is that?)

Shirin:  It’s a fry!  (It’s a fly!)

Frederick looks unsure.

Shirin: Bees live in big farts! (Bees live in big tree barks!)

Mom walks in.  Both kids are staring at the squashed fly on the floor.  Shirin is close to it and studying it intensely.  Frederick is not so close and looks unsure.

Shirin:  Mom, I squished a fry and it’s nuts came out! (I squished a fly and it’s guts came out!)

Mom looks surprised.  Shirin uses the fly sweater as a pointer.  She points to the fly with her chest out.

Shirin:  Fried nuts! (Fly’s guts!)

Mom:  Wow, good job Shirin!

Mom can tell Frederick is uneasy. He reaches for her.

Frederick: Old you?  (Will you hold me?)

Mom:  What’s wrong Frederick?

Frederick: Beeeee!

Mom:  Don’t worry Frederick, it’s just a fly. It can’t hurt you.  I don’t like bees too but it was not a bee.  And if it was we would have opened the window and let it fly out.  We don’t want that yucky fear in our heart.

Shirin: The fry made Frederick up-sweat so it had to supper the cwon-sin-quens-es. (The fly made Frederick upset so it had to suffer the consequences.)

Frederick: Like it.  (I don’t like it.)

Mom: I know you didn’t like it.

Shirin:  And I won it!  Pretend you ordered me from Shirin.com to fight the fry.  Pow!

Shirin makes power fighting moves in the air.  Mom giggles as she picks up the dead fly in a tissue and throws it in a nearby trash can.  Frederick becomes less tense and starts to smile. 

Mom: You are a worrier Shirin and always will be.  God will order up some Shirin as you grow up in your faith.  I pray that you will be wise in your fights!  Pow!

Mom tries to throw a power punch herself.  It makes both kids burst out in laughter.  She looks down at Frederick as he goes back to his drums.

Mom:  And you Frederick, as you grow up in your faith I pray God will give you courage and that you will trust Him.  He will use you and your drums to help others have courage too.

Frederick starts to play his drums and hums a rocked out version of “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.”  With her fly swatter weapon in hand, Shirin dances a warrior dance all around the room.

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1 Corinthians 13:11

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.