We are constantly learning new things at our house. Of course, none of this enlightenment is the result of our own resourcefulness, but courtesy of the little people around us.
The husband got a call from one of the grands last week in which a squeaky voice said, “Mommy wants to trim the bushes. She said to tell you to bring the head trimmers when you come.”
Ouch. Seems like the hedge-trimmers would be less painful.
That same grand also reported being outside and seeing a gardening snake.
We’ve also been learning new things about anatomy.
One of the little ones had terrible stomach pains, so her mother took her to the emergency room suspecting her appendix. I saw her after she had been thoroughly checked out and asked how she was.
“Fine!” she said, beaming. “And I still have my independix!”
We also are learning wonderful ways to ramp up superlatives.
One of the little ones had a cold for a few days and on the third day, when asked if she felt better, she said, “No. I feel worser.”
Maybe the dictionary people will add that to their list of words.
When the entire mob was last here and everybody was helping clean up, putting things away and turning furniture upright before leaving, a little voice yelled, “Grandma, where do you want me to put this dirty worm?”
He said it with sincerity — as though I probably had a special place in the house picked out for the worm he had been rolling in sand.
Sometimes it’s not what they say, but the way they think that is intriguing.
To a kid who asked for a second cookie: “You already have one cookie you’re eating. Why do you need another?”
“I want to be ready for when this one is gone.”
The kid will do well in business.
When we kept a couple of the grands for a few days, their mother told them that Grandma was going to be busy, but Grandpa would help them with their school lessons.
One of the kids looked Grandpa up and down, then said, “How do we know he knows anything?”
It has been a long time since he has been in school, but he does remember a thing or two.
They also are free with the commentary. A two-year-old watched her daddy get up from the dinner table, walk to the stove and help himself to a second serving.
When he came back to the table and sat down, she looked at him and announced, “Da-da hoooooong-ry!”
They’re also creative when it comes to lending assistance, even if the assistance isn’t exactly on a professional level.
When the husband had a problem with his cornea, our daughter told her twins it was hard for Grandpa to open one eye.
First twin: “So he looks like a pirate?”
Second twin: “I’ll bring my doctor kit!”
Not the kind of health care he was hoping for, but it can always be worser.
