Um, well, --Isms

My daughter Ana is one of those girls that we all knew in high school--very quiet, and assessor, mostly innocent, instinctively proper. Orderly. A deep thinker and a big reader.

Her sister is instinctively mischievous. On Friday, she had a friend over for swimming and at one point, they were both running around without the bottoms of their bathing suits. I asked Jane today, "What were you doing when you guys took your bottoms off?"

She said, "Playing a game of dares."

My life flashed before my eyes. Oy, I'm so worried how we are going to survive that one's adolescence.

But Ana--well, that just never would have occurred to her. She's just a lot more careful and deliberate. She's a rule follower.

So you can imagine our reaction when, tonight (over a lovely steak dinner to celebrate the beginning of school tomorrow --yesssss), she asked guilelessly, "Um. What does it mean when someone says he has the 'runs'?"

I explained, very carefully NOT looking at my husband until the very last word.

Whereupon, we both fell out of our chairs laughing.

I mean, you KNOW how I feel about potty humor. But this was just so unexpected. And considering the source, I just lost it.

Yet another example of stellar parenting.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I forgot how similar Madeleine and Ana, and Ella and Jane are. Your description of Ana is astonishingly close to how I would describe Madeleine. Although 'orderly' implies that her room is tidy and that isn't the case at all.

Ella gives me a new reason every single day to dread the teenage years. Today's reason? Looking longingly at my period pain medication and asking if the blue tablets taste nicer than the white ones.
Barb Matijevich said…
No, you know, I realized I should have used the word "methodical" and not "orderly" because Ana's room is a disaster of fire hazard proportions. She's such a COLLECTOR. ACK!

Jane saw someone smoking the other day and obviously, having had cancer and not enjoyed it very much, I've done quite the propaganda campaign about smoking and black lungs, etc., etc. The girls very exaggeratedly HOLD THEIR BREATHS when passing a smoker now.

But Jane said the other day, "It's gross. But I wonder what it would taste like?"