Annacdotes 28

first day of second grade

1. Several weeks ago, in the middle of a prayer, Anna said, "P.S. Please help me to get more watching in my life."

We had a chat soon after about how it's not really okay to pray for more cartoon time. Or say P.S. in a prayer, really.

All was forgotten until several weeks later when, during another prayer, Anna said, "And sorry for the P.S., by the way, about getting more watching. Sorry about that."

2. In another prayer, Anna started with a bang. "Thank you for cuddling, for it being on the earth and being made known to man. Thank you for all the cuddling I've done." She finished this same prayer with, "Thank you for air and for trees. Amen."

3. "Mom, I'm having a strange feeling right now. Can I tell you about it? I have to go to the bathroom AND my stomach is tired."

I was not able to identify her ailment at that time.

4. In a prayer: "Thank you for the artist that you are. And thank you for helping us when we need it, when we go through hard times, in our dark hours." Dark hours? I love that girl.

5. "Have you ever smelled a fake flower that smells like baked caramel, if caramel was getting baked in your house?" I had not.

6. Anna told me something she thought was funny, which I can't remember now. I replied by saying, "Silly, silly," to which she said, "Quite contrilly." That just made me smile.

7. During a movie that was probably more science fiction than Anna is normally used to, she kept saying, "I am so cooled out right now!"

8. Anna has two pillow pets, a unicorn and a dolphin, which she has named. I asked her one night why she prefers to sleep on the dolphin, saying "dolphin" because I couldn't remember its name just then. She scoffed and said very condescendingly, "It has a name, you know. Did you forget names exist, Ashley?"

9. A couple months ago (as in, before her last birthday), Anna came across a sentence in a book that said something like, "It was wonderful, exciting, and stupendous!" Disapprovingly, she said, "Isn't that redundant?" I thought, Thanks, you're 6.

10. But she's not always a walking dictionary. That same day, she was eating cinnamon Life. After she drank the milk at the end, she sighed with satisfaction, saying, "Ah, synonym milk."