"75. Why?" I try to figure out the source of the question.
"I knew he couldn't be hundred because he still has some smooth skin between his wrinkles," Mimm explains her deductive thinking while swirling the soup with her spoon and observing the waves it creates.
I wait because I know there is more.
"But who is older, city grandpa or country grandpa?"
"City grandpa is the oldest of all your grandparents," I answer.
"But how can that be? He has so much more hair and far less wrinkles than country grandpa," wonders Mimm, holds the spoon still and looks at me.
Now I start swirling my spoon because I don't have the answer straight away. I have never examined the wrinkles on the old men's faces nor wondered what has kept them young or aged them.
"May be it is the fresh air he gets when he goes hunting," I offer the first thing that eventually comes to my mind.
"For a moment I thought he might be using those wrinkle creams they advertise on TV," Mimm comments and goes back to eat her soup. My answer seems to be enough for her.
Not for me. I know there is more than that. Suddenly I feel a wave of guilt because it has been a while when I sat and just listened to my dad and his stories. It is always the women in the house who fill the room with words. I can feel a little frown forming on my face.
"Mom you just made another wrinkle," Mimm wants to point out. "But don't worry, you have still a lot of smooth skin between the wrinkles."
The wrinkles of smiling don't count, do they?
LOVE THIS! Kids perspectives of age always seem to amaze me. The other day, one of my students asked me what I DID during the blizzard of 1888! I told him I was not yet born. He asked me what my parents did!
ReplyDeleteThis is so touching and funny. I love how kids look at things in life.
ReplyDeleteTo keep the words shared by your children is a gift you are giving yourself. My father wrote short comments and/or stories my son (now 23) used to say to him. Those words bring both my dad back and my son's wonderful words and innocence. What a magnificent gift!
ReplyDeleteMimm is such a thoughtful thinker. Now you have me checking the smooth between the wrinkles. Snippets of conversation preserved are priceless. I wish I had some from when my son was young. Your details always put me in the room with you. Thanks for that glimpse.
ReplyDeleteLoved these lines:
ReplyDelete"Now I start swirling my spoon because I don't have the answer straight away. I have never examined the wrinkles on the old men's faces nor wondered what has kept them young or aged them."
And now, laugh lines don't count!
Love how you captured the conversation by using dialogue instead of just summarizing it. Made me feel like I was watching it transpire. . . .
ReplyDeleteMy grandma used to say that women are made more beautiful by wrinkles and silver hair. I am getting to the age where I hope she was right!
This is all so precious. Mimm is certainly a thinker. You're right about women and words, but men are not so open. I regret all the times I didn't talk more with my grandparents/parents. My husband is not a talker as a rule, but he does come up with some interesting stories. Good luck in your new conversation endeavors.
ReplyDeleteBless your seven year old for being the impetus for this fun post. It is the questions of little ones that keep me working with first graders. They begin to look at the world as a member instead of thinking the world is just about them:)
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for the cute and insightful things kids say. I keep a book for each child and the kids love to pull out the "funny books" and recall the silly things they and their siblings have said. Thanks for sharing this conversation with us.
ReplyDeleteThat is beautiful! Don't you just love the way kids say things?
ReplyDeleteMimm is such a thinker! I love her thought process and her sharing. Such an amazing young girl! (Kind of reminds me of her mom!) Thought it was cute she thought about the wrinkle cream on TV!
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm looking for more smooth skin between the wrinkles?
Love how she reassures you! So precious ~
ReplyDelete