Loose feet
Audrey's favorite books these days are the Junie B. Jones series. I can't blame her. They are as much fun to read to her as they are for her to listen to. If you're not familiar with Junie B., think back to the Ramona Quimby of your childhood and triple her (or if she does not even ring a bell, think the kid with the worst ADHD you've ever seen).
Junie B. is wonderful fun. She's energetic, irreverent, and drives all the adults in her life nuts. She doesn't understand why people sometimes look at the ceiling when she says things, when there's nothing up there. (She knows. She looked.) Her kindergarten teacher is Mrs., and she has another name, but Junie B. just likes Mrs., and that's all. Her attempted vocabulary and pronunciation would make anyone smile.
We are currently reading Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl. In the first couple of chapters, Junie B.'s boyfriend Ricardo dumps her to chase another girl around the playground, and she goes home heartbroken. Her mother tries to cheer her up, telling her that she's too young to worry about boys, because at age 5 she should be "footloose and fancy free." To which Junie B. replies, "But I don't want loose feet!"
Later Audrey asked me if I thought kindergarten was too young to have a boyfriend. "Uh oh," I thought. I told her that it's not too young to really like a boy, but I did agree with Junie B.'s mom, that she shouldn't worry about just one boy until she's a bit older. She wasn't sure what I meant about "really liking" a boy. Oh, euphemisms! I thought a bit. Then I asked if she remembered a certain boy she used to talk about a lot, how she used to say she "really, really liked him" all the time? That's what I meant, honey.
She frowned at me. "I don't want to think about THAT. I wish you hadn't brought THAT up." Crud. I made her remember how her first crush (5 years older than her) ignored her. But it tells me that this is not a bad subject to be discussing. I reaffirmed that at her age, it's much better to have FRIENDS of both genders than to make one boy relationship a little more special. She asked, "Do you mean I should have loose feet? Like Junie B.'s mom said?"
"Yes, honey. Loose feet."
She went off to play, and I worried like a normal mom for a few minutes, and decided to stew over it later. A few hours later she said to me, "Mom? I've decided I like having loose feet."
Oh.
GOOD.
(Sigh of relief. Because I am not ready for all that just yet!)
Junie B. is wonderful fun. She's energetic, irreverent, and drives all the adults in her life nuts. She doesn't understand why people sometimes look at the ceiling when she says things, when there's nothing up there. (She knows. She looked.) Her kindergarten teacher is Mrs., and she has another name, but Junie B. just likes Mrs., and that's all. Her attempted vocabulary and pronunciation would make anyone smile.
We are currently reading Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl. In the first couple of chapters, Junie B.'s boyfriend Ricardo dumps her to chase another girl around the playground, and she goes home heartbroken. Her mother tries to cheer her up, telling her that she's too young to worry about boys, because at age 5 she should be "footloose and fancy free." To which Junie B. replies, "But I don't want loose feet!"
Later Audrey asked me if I thought kindergarten was too young to have a boyfriend. "Uh oh," I thought. I told her that it's not too young to really like a boy, but I did agree with Junie B.'s mom, that she shouldn't worry about just one boy until she's a bit older. She wasn't sure what I meant about "really liking" a boy. Oh, euphemisms! I thought a bit. Then I asked if she remembered a certain boy she used to talk about a lot, how she used to say she "really, really liked him" all the time? That's what I meant, honey.
She frowned at me. "I don't want to think about THAT. I wish you hadn't brought THAT up." Crud. I made her remember how her first crush (5 years older than her) ignored her. But it tells me that this is not a bad subject to be discussing. I reaffirmed that at her age, it's much better to have FRIENDS of both genders than to make one boy relationship a little more special. She asked, "Do you mean I should have loose feet? Like Junie B.'s mom said?"
"Yes, honey. Loose feet."
She went off to play, and I worried like a normal mom for a few minutes, and decided to stew over it later. A few hours later she said to me, "Mom? I've decided I like having loose feet."
Oh.
GOOD.
(Sigh of relief. Because I am not ready for all that just yet!)
posted by Andrea | 9:19 PM
2 Comments:
I am absolutely dying! And I am so glad to hear audrey has loose feet. I am going to copy and send this story on to my mother who will laugh and laugh and laugh. With affection of course. Your gal is some gal!
This is precious. Print this out or write it somewhere else and put it in her keeping box. She'll love it some day.
Post a Comment
<< Home