Today we had to go to the car garage. Our car needed its oil changed. We could do it ourselves, but it costs about the same to get it done by a car technician, so that’s what we do. I had to bring Naisa and Yonah along with me, because Ben, my husband, was working. I was busy in the kitchen when I realized that it was time to go.
“Naisa! Yonah! Hurry and get dressed!,” I said quickly, hoping my speed of my voice would help the process. However, It had no effect. Despite Naisa and Yonah getting dressed and shoes on by themselves, with bags of toys packed to go, we still had to hurry out the door to get to the garage. Though I prefer to be five minutes early, when we arrived at 9:01, it was still within the range of ‘on time.’ We walked into the office and settled into the two chairs available for those who wait for their cars to be fixed. These chairs sat right next to a water filter, and an older coffee machine.
“Good morning!” I said to the car repairman, whose name was George.
“Good morning!” George replied.
“Good morning,” Yonah said to him. Then to me, he asked, “what’s his name?”
“His name is George,” I said, quietly.
“George?”
“George.”
“What’s your name?” George said to Yonah.
“I’m Yonah,” said Yonah.
“Yonah, would you like some water?” he asked.
“YES!” Both my children smiled and moved excitedly over to the water filter. George put the cups in the cup holder, backward first, then the right way, and gave each child a cup.
“Only a little bit,” I said. “Be careful.”
Then we settled in for a little while. Naisa had brought along a train which was a source of conflict for Yonah for a few minutes before he settled in with his ‘robot-car’. I decided to do some writing. It wasn’t quiet for very long, though. Soon, there were people coming in and out.
First, a man came to take the coffee maker (which we found out was broken) out and replace it with a new one.
“Hi. What’s your name?” Yonah asked him.
“My name’s Bud, what’s yours?” he replied.
“I’m Yonah. Look! I have a car!”
Then there was Mark, the other repairmen. He was the one who was working on our car, and so when Yonah showed him his car, he said, “I’m working on a car just like that.”
Because Yonah was interacting with him, Mark had asked Yonah what his name was.
Quietly, sitting in the chair next to me, Naisa said, “I want him to know my name. Why didn’t he ask for my name?”
Another person, a delivery woman, bringing car parts and other supplies to the shop, popped in three times, dropping off boxes of various sizes for the cars that were being repaired.
“Hello again!” She said breathlessly, as she entered the shop for the third time, with a third box. “So many stops today!”
When Mark came back into the office area for the second time, Naisa got her wish. “What’s your name?” Naisa asked Mark.
“I’m Mark,” he said, pointing to his name tag on his work shirt. “What’s yours?”
“I’m Naisa,” she said, with a big smile.
Another man entered the office, this time to talk to George about scheduling an inspection for his van. Yonah wandered over to him to show him his car, “Look! I have a car!”
“Yes, yes you do!” the man replied, smiling at him and at me.
Despite the business of the office, the car was finished quickly and we were on our way home before ten in the morning, with plenty of time left in the day for asking strangers what their names were. We left with a “Merry Christmas!” and with two children who now enjoy waiting at the car garage.
