Gesundheit!

In May 2007, right after Claire turned 17-months old, she saw one of our kitties, Merlin, sneeze. This tickled her to no end, and in true toddler form, she started mimicking him.

I think I’ve seen him sneeze less than 10 times in the six years we’ve had him, so it’s not like this is an everyday occurrence. Still, this made quite an impression on Claire.

She’d scream, “Moh-Moh sneezed! Ahhh-CHOO!” Then she’d laugh hysterically. This game progressed, and soon she was fake-sneezing all over the place.

If she saw one of us sneeze, which doesn’t happen a lot, but does happen, she would be beside herself with joy. She’d start to sneeze too, and she was getting really good at it.

Of course, we’d join in the fun and yell “Gesundheit!” every time she did it. Claire picked up on this and would yell, “Guh-ZOON-tite!” not only after she fake-sneezed, but whenever she heard anyone sneeze.

A month or so ago, Claire and I were in the grocery store, and we heard a person sneeze a few rows over. Imagine my surprise when Claire yelled, “Guh-ZOON-tite” at the top of her little lungs. “Him sneezed!” she said, all excited. Then she said gesundheit again, but she said it as if the actual word was the sneeze.

And now, the game is still being played, but it has changed. Now, Claire’s fake sneezes don’t sound like Ahhh-CHOO, they sound like Guh-ZOON-tite.

So, if you’re ever in the grocery store and you sneeze, and then you hear a tiny voice yelling “Gesundheit!” from three aisles over, I hate to tell you that you’re not just being wished good health, you’re probably being mocked by a crazed toddler. Please accept my sincere apologies.