Thank you.

“Did you say thank you for that? No? Please go back and say thank you”. It’s the universal language of parenting, from the moment a toddler can utter a stumbled “ta” we’re constantly prompting them.

“Say thank you”

“Honey, say thank you”

“I’m going to have to take that away if you can’t say thank you”

At times I’m horrified by the insincerities of a forced thank you from a child. Particularly when it’s my child. It must be one of the more excruciating moments of working with children in the service industry. That awkward moment while the waiter is made to endure the thank you process, hanging about for Little Jimmy to express some gratitude for his chicken nuggets. “What do you say Jimmy?”

Can you give a sincere thank you when you’re three?  Or is it all about trying to form a habit. And if so, is it a habit of insincere and fast thank you fob offs?

Annie wants to say thank you.

I didn’t tell her that I posted her video pleading for votes. She wanted it on the blog but I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do – but she was so cute (and it may well be the only piece of video I have of her with her hair brushed and a clean face). Her last words before she went to bed the other evening were “you’re number 30” and her first words in the morning were “where’s your iPad, so I can vote”.

It’s been the same every morning. She wanders straight in to our bedroom from hers, with her morning hair and sleepy eyes. She slowly scrolls down the list, carefully counting where I am and then it’s on to find her Aunty Bianca so she can vote for her. My very favourite part though, is when she scrolls to the very last person on the list and gives them a vote – because that is exactly how Annie’s sense of justice works. Annie will spend her life cheering for the underdog.

I also wanted to say thank you. Voting has closed and I’ve made it in to the top 25. As an expat blogger I don’t get to partake in a lot of blogging competitions, the majority of blog comps in Australia are limited to people living in Australia (it’s hard to test drive a Ford Territory in Qatar) and PR companies aren’t really sure how they’ll send products my way or exactly where I fit in the blogosphere.

So, thank you. Thank you especially for this face, have a look at her reaction.

“How did we get all of those votes?”