08 November 2013

Fill In The Blank Quickly, Please

In a noisy car today, Little T announced:

"The worst smell in the world for me is elderly {word muffled by other children's voices}."

Huh?  What the heck?  My cute little 7 year old is dissing old people?  This is not good, thought I.

In the time it took me to be heard over the fray and ask her to repeat what she had said, all kinds of crazy things ran through my head.

Is she going to say something mean?  Is it just feet?  What might this mean for her visits with grandparents, or with our dear friend Margaret?  How should I respond to this? Ugh, I'm going to have to talk to her about the value of older people in our lives, and how even if they can be a little scary to young children, what with their strange hairs, and shaky hands, and wrinkly skin, and crackly voices, we have much to learn from their years and their wisdom and their lives.  Older people enrich our lives and give us, among other things, history and perspective and reassurance.

Then she repeated it: "The worst smell in the world for me is elderly perfume."




Oh, I'm right there with you, sister.  No big talk or lecture or life lesson required.  Just a fist bump, and a "I know, right?"

Phew!  Dodged a bullet.

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