Grandpa Moses: On Children

Marash Girl grew up in a two family house where she and her family lived on the first floor, her father's brother (Uncle Paul) and sister-in-law (Auntie Zabelle) lived on the second floor, and her grandparents (Moses and Yepros) lived on the third floor.  

The children would move among the floors interchangeably, one big family, living and playing in one big house.  As one might imagine, things could get pretty noisy with six kids dashing up and down the stairs, in and out of the rooms  (kids ranging in age from one to six years old, two to seven years old, three to eight years old, four to nine years old, depending on the year we're talking about -- you get the picture!)

Back to Grandpa Moses.  When the noise and activity   started to reach inordinately high levels, Marash Girl's father Peter would put his foot down and stop all of the activity with one one word and one steely look.

But his father, Grandpa Moses, gruff as he was (and he was at times gruff) would simply admonish his son (not his grandchildren) with the words in the language of the Marash Armenians, "çocuklarīn keflerī tokhunma."  (Chojuklarun kefleru tokhunma.)  Marash Girl is not quite sure of the spelling, but she is sure of the concept.

                                      Don't disturb the children's fun!