Laughing All the Way
One of the bests parts of being a mom is stuff they tell ya. My girls make me laugh all the time. Okay, sometimes they make me scream. But overall, we laugh most. When Clara Grace was 4 she announced she knew how Elvis died. I was shocked she'd contemplated this. She once asked about him & I'd mentioned he died of a heart attack. I believe I might've phrased it that he fell & died. So she smiles proudly & explains her theory thus, "Well, I think Elvis was wearing slippy shoes & he fell down. So he died. One time I had slippy shoes, Mommy & I fell down. I didn't die. But Elvis did. It was his slippy shoes, I think." So the mystery is cleared up. Alert the media. And put some tape on the soles of your shoes, folks, it's apparently quite dangerous out there. If it could happen to Elvis, it could happen to any of us.
Once at Disneyland she was very excited at a character breakfast & noted 2 huge squirrels ambling towards us. "Look!" she joyously squealed, "It's Chip & Dip!!" As you can imagine, we'll never let her live that down. I'll probably mention it at the wedding one day. Her other famous line came when she wanted to make an announcement. She was a newly minted 4 at the time. She raised her fairy wand & proclaimed, "Mommy! SCIENCE!" I was perplexed until it hit me. "Um Clara Grace, I think you mean SILENCE." Giggles erupted & a sweet little voice admitted, "Oh yeah, that's right, Mommy. I get mixed up." Likely this is the case when we visted a Jewish cemetary in Vienna & she asked if she could wear a harmonica, too. We call them yarmulkes, dear. More giggles.
Ava, on the other hand, is funny in a different way. Once when she was 3 she asked in a concerned voice if Grammie & Papah live in a poor country. Well, no they live in Oregon, that's a state, honey. She persisted with this line of questioning, finally saying, "But Mom they don't even have a Super Target, so it's a poor country, huh?" Flabbergasted is too mild to describe my response. I guess during our travels through several 3rd world countries she'd noticed this discrepancy. When she was 2 & someone frustrated her, she would announce, "You makin' my crazy!" We still use that phrase at our house for obvious reasons.
Families are wondrous places to learn & laugh. I try to keep this in mind & be grateful. These are halcyon days, my friends. It's good to cheirsh our blessings while they're here. So choose joy today. Remind yourself the best things about your little darlings. Savor this chapter now, it'll close far too soon. They always do.
Comments
Oh I hear ya, sister! One day my 5 y ear old son, who was still learning English after being adopted less than a year prior, admonished his 4 year old sister to, "Ssshhh! Mom's in the phone!"
IN..ON...it's all the same when you aren't quite fluent I guess.
Love hearing about your sweet girls and I always have something to think about after reading your blog.
keep up the good work!
Posted by: Jeel | June 25, 2006 08:52 PM
It's so hard to let go of the sweet little child way of talking. I have put off corrected their mis-speak because it's so darn sweet. My daughter said "belt seat" instead of "seat belt" for the longest time and body bones instead of skeleton.
Posted by: debn | June 27, 2006 09:40 AM