Out of the Mouths of Babes

Having children is an adventure that changes every parent. They teach us about ourselves without realizing it. Sometimes just hearing our words come from their mouths is enough to show us adults just how absurd we are. Other times the imitation of our actions speaks volumes.

Here's an example. My husband and I are always discussing gray hair. We are both young, and both of us have parents who grayed prematurely. So it is like a competition between us on who will go gray first. Well, we both found gray hairs in my husband, which then led to a discussion on dying. I said, "of course, I don't want to look like my kids' grandma!"

Well, the kids were lurking around, because the next day, in the checkout line at the grocery store, my oldest daughter commented on another woman's gray hair. This woman was standing in front of us in the line, and she had children with her. My daughter looked at the woman and the kids with a puzzled look.

"Mommy," she asked, "I wonder if that woman is those kids grandma or the mom. Because if she is their mom then she must be really old! She could have you hair disease too."

I immediately began my damage control, trying to shush my daughter. The woman may not have heard her, because there was a grocery cart between us and the store was loud. At least, I was hoping that she hadn't heard. Meanwhile, my daughter wasn't finished.

She mumbled words that I couldn't quite understand (which turned out to be "I gonna ask her") and broke away from me. I squeezed around my cart to catch my daughter. The woman had checked out and was pulling her cart away from the checkout. I caught up with them as my child said, "old hair like yours".

She had asked the woman if those kids were her kids or her grandkids. The woman said that they were her children, so my dear daughter went on to console the woman by telling her "my mommy has old hair like yours." I was mortified. Did I forget to mention that by the time I reached the woman and my daughter, the woman was doubled over in laughter?