The American Grab and the Indian Get

I knew this day would come. But I never knew I'd be tongue tied. Me? Tongue tied?

The process of rolling her 'R's and stretching her 'O's  had started a few weeks after we moved to Seattle.

Driti's first accented word in the American style was 'Paati'. At first we were very concerned when she said she wanted to go to 'Paati'. Was she so home sick? Did she miss her grandmother so much? Did she already want to go back to India? (Paati is Tamil for grandmother)

"Why Driti? You don't like Seattle?" Ady asked reassessing his decision to move us to the US. 

"I like Seattle papa" she answered confused, before running to the washroom. 

She wanted to go to the "Potty"! We were never so relieved for somebody else's intentions of using the potty. But there, it was only a bodily requirement our daughter was trying to address. She was not questioning our big decision!

So what started with paati, is continuing ever since. And today, she said this:

"Mom, I bumped my head. It's hurrrting me. Can you please grab me a wet towel?"

Unfamiliar words for me: Mom, bumped, hurrrrting, grab

I am Mamma or Amma - Not Mom.

In India, we hurt our heads or hit it someplace, we don't bump it. We may bump into people, or bump prices up. We just don't bump our physical selves against inanimate objects.

And it hurts. It doesn't hurrrrrt.

Grab?

grab ¹  (grb)

v. grabbed, grab·bing, grabs

v.tr.

1. To take or grasp suddenly: grabbed the letter from me.

2. To capture or restrain; arrest.

3. To obtain or appropriate unscrupulously or forcibly: grab public funds; grab power.

4. To take hurriedly: grabbed my coat and hat and left.

5. Slang To capture the attention of: a plot that grabs the reader.

Why would she just not want me to get the wet towel to her?

And now, I rrrreally underrrrstand a laat of what she says.
And they say, the communication break down happens in the teenage years!