45: kids...
originally posted Wed., Oct. 25, 2006; 1:20 p.m. EDT
just this morning, my tween daughter said something that reminded me that she really is just a kid. this munchkin--who has been on the planet just about 1/4 of the time i've been here--is a know-it-all and can usually tell me why and how in several verbose sentences filled with 3- and 4-syllable words.
we go toe-to-toe daily--on topics like why one should (or should not) take care to brush bedtime lint from one's hair before presenting oneself in public, why sleeveless dresses and flip flops are/are not appropriate clothing for 40-degree temperatures, and the ever-popular why one should/should not brush one's teeth for more than 20 seconds per session.
she has a tendency to present her arguments with the shrewdness of Marvin Belli so when i heard something so... elementary-schoolish come from her lips this morning, i was shocked back into the real world.
(she's getting ready so we can go out as soon as i'm done with this. and even as i'm typing, i hear her toothbrush whir for 10 seconds. "that's not long enough", i shout. ok... she added another 10 seconds. next it's, "did you brush your hair?" no. she goes back into the bedroom and comes out with a headband on, in 3.5 seconds.)
any way, back to the topic at hand.
she was about to put on one of her favorite movies, "13 going on 30" when i heard her say, "mommy, you know most people don't understand this movie. they just don't get how a girl can go from 13 to 30 (finger snap) just like that."
i had a deja vu moment, feeling as if we'd gone back to the days when my word was gospel to my daughter's ears.
then i had a sudden flash back to an incident that happened last night...
my daughter and i were in wally world, picking out the appropriate congratulatory greeting cards for friends and family members. my daughter came across one that she thought was perfect for me. i watched her laugh hysterically as she read and re-read the card, peeking at me several times to make sure she had my attention.
she (laughing uncontrollably): mommy! this card is perfect for you. oh my God!
me: what? lemme see.
she: here mommy. (still giggling like a hyena)
she handed me the card and i checked out the illustration first. i love interesting illustrations and i took in every detail--mostly to see if there were any subliminal messages--before i read the actual text. this one was nicely done but nothing spectacular.
the cartoon depicted two women, seated on opposite sides of a small round kitchen table. a round birthday cake with a slice missing was in the middle of the table. the missing slice lay on a dessert plate beside the cake dish. the women were half-smiling and each had a steaming mug in front of her.
i checked out the front caption: Only the good die young.
then opened it and read the inside: Bitches like us live forever. Happy Birthday.
my mouth dropped to the floor and that lil crumb snatcher laughed so hard she almost peed her pants.
.
just this morning, my tween daughter said something that reminded me that she really is just a kid. this munchkin--who has been on the planet just about 1/4 of the time i've been here--is a know-it-all and can usually tell me why and how in several verbose sentences filled with 3- and 4-syllable words.
we go toe-to-toe daily--on topics like why one should (or should not) take care to brush bedtime lint from one's hair before presenting oneself in public, why sleeveless dresses and flip flops are/are not appropriate clothing for 40-degree temperatures, and the ever-popular why one should/should not brush one's teeth for more than 20 seconds per session.
she has a tendency to present her arguments with the shrewdness of Marvin Belli so when i heard something so... elementary-schoolish come from her lips this morning, i was shocked back into the real world.
(she's getting ready so we can go out as soon as i'm done with this. and even as i'm typing, i hear her toothbrush whir for 10 seconds. "that's not long enough", i shout. ok... she added another 10 seconds. next it's, "did you brush your hair?" no. she goes back into the bedroom and comes out with a headband on, in 3.5 seconds.)
any way, back to the topic at hand.
she was about to put on one of her favorite movies, "13 going on 30" when i heard her say, "mommy, you know most people don't understand this movie. they just don't get how a girl can go from 13 to 30 (finger snap) just like that."
i had a deja vu moment, feeling as if we'd gone back to the days when my word was gospel to my daughter's ears.
then i had a sudden flash back to an incident that happened last night...
my daughter and i were in wally world, picking out the appropriate congratulatory greeting cards for friends and family members. my daughter came across one that she thought was perfect for me. i watched her laugh hysterically as she read and re-read the card, peeking at me several times to make sure she had my attention.
she (laughing uncontrollably): mommy! this card is perfect for you. oh my God!
me: what? lemme see.
she: here mommy. (still giggling like a hyena)
she handed me the card and i checked out the illustration first. i love interesting illustrations and i took in every detail--mostly to see if there were any subliminal messages--before i read the actual text. this one was nicely done but nothing spectacular.
the cartoon depicted two women, seated on opposite sides of a small round kitchen table. a round birthday cake with a slice missing was in the middle of the table. the missing slice lay on a dessert plate beside the cake dish. the women were half-smiling and each had a steaming mug in front of her.
i checked out the front caption: Only the good die young.
then opened it and read the inside: Bitches like us live forever. Happy Birthday.
my mouth dropped to the floor and that lil crumb snatcher laughed so hard she almost peed her pants.
.
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