I never took Spanish in school. I took French and German. I never wanted to learn Spanish. And yet here I am, 27 years later learning it. Why? My 6th grader started it in school this semester. And if you have kids, you know very well that if they have to learn something, you have to learn something.
It’s like a flashback of the toddler years and I wish I’d paid more attention to that pain in the ass Dora and Sesame Street. I’ve downloaded Spanish tutorials, flashcards and songs on all of our phones and devices. I get in the car and hand her my phone. “A, B, C, D…” Except now the toddler is almost 12 and mouths off and bemoans the Spanish language and my parenting prowess.
We’ve watched endless loops of Youtube videos for Spanish speaking babies. Gah. And while it’s nice to keep the old brain active by learning new things, this wasn’t in my plans. But then again, neither was algebra a second time around. I’m at the age where I’m lucky to remember words in English, let alone a foreign language. How do you say, “I will hire you a tutor” in Spanish?