Overheard

Lucy: Dad, can we watch The Aristocats? Jason: No, the rental expired.

Lucy: What?

Jason: We rented it. We paid money to borrow it. Like you borrow a book from the library.

Lucy: But what did we rent?

Jason: The movie.

Lucy: No, but when you go to the library, it's a book, there's a thing. There's no thing.

Jason: Well, there is a thing, but it's in iTunes.

Lucy: But where is it?

I had to stop listening. She really could have asked about God and Jason would have had an easier time explaining it to her.

Counselors

Lucy's summer schedule is a patchwork of different camps and trips. Right now she's at a nearby day camp, which she seems to be enjoying. I hesitated slightly before putting her into it, because Emily reminded me that in college and she our friend Tiffany were counselors there and they spent a lot of time "hungover and wishing for a cigarette." I have not inspected Lu's counselors terribly closely, but I do know a couple of things about them... 1) They are charming. Lu has  a crush on a counselor named Matthew. For the third day in a row, she has written him a message on her lunchbag: "Mr. Matthew cannot touch because he's silly. P.S. I'm serees." See photo below.

2) They are enterprising. Last Thursday, one of the counselors had the bright idea that instead of water playtime, they should just have the campers wash her car. Which they did, and loved.

Hilarious? Alarming?

Kindergarten: Done.

Her first year of school slipped away from me. I wish I could gather it back up to remember better. She had a great year, got everything she needed out of school, namely a love of learning and an enthusiasm for school.

She was lucky to have Ms. P this year, a teacher who really seemed to understand and appreciate Lu, despite the challenges she presented in the classroom (constant talking and singing, persistent pushing of her own agenda, disruption of others). We got her final report card, which said (brag warning): "The breadth and depth of Lucy's knowledge are remarkable. Couple that with her curiosity — great things lie ahead. Because she is a great reader and she picks up math concepts easily, I would focus on helping her develop her writing skills. I can see her writing plays and using her creativity to bring those plays into production with music, costumes, scenery...She will be a strong student in the first grade."

We can't make our children anyone other than who they are. Lu proves this to me every day. But "curious" and "creative" are the two qualities I would hand pick for any child of mine to have. Lucky us.

Lucy Girl

Coming home from the baseball game the other night, Jason and Lu were listening to "The Lucy Song" (Gracie by Ben Folds — we sing it with "Lucy" replacing "Gracie"). It is a sweet song about a little girl growing up, and in it there's this line: One day you're gonna want to go. Hope we taught you everything you need to know, Lucy girl.

Lu understood the line for the first time the other night, and it made her cry. She said she didn't want to leave home and not see us every day. And Jason explained that someday, maybe really soon, she would want to go, and that would be okay.

The song makes me cry every single time I hear it.

Think and Grow Rich

Coming off the recent success of the lemonade stand, where her cut was a cool $10, Lu has been money hungry. She has regular chores where she can earn $2 per week, with some upside for additional work. Add that to the steady income stream of lost teeth and grandparent windfalls, and she's got a reasonable cash flow. But, like any good entrepreneur, Lu knows that the real money comes from opportunities you make for yourself. Last night, she demanded a quarter from each of us at dinner to view her dance performance. Jason protested, saying he had no change. Lucy pressed us, "Mom or Nini, you have to pay two quarters each because Dad can't pay his." We payed, but there was no performance. And last week, I found her fishing in the dryer for money.

Where is the line between grifter and entrepreneur? Somewhere between rich and jail, I guess.

Lucy Can Read

Like, READ-read. Like sit-in-the-corner-and-read-herself-a-chapter-book read. Tonight she read us a book about polar bears that eat baby seals who have poked their tiny heads through the ice to breathe. She read this without horror, while Milo, my very own baby seal, looked on with wide eyes. She was all, "Mom, that's just what happens." Oh, and she knows the word "scavenge." We got a big laugh about the part where polar bears are so hungry, they are digging in people's garbage. Climate change is so funny [nervous laughter].

We have all been enjoying each other so much lately. Could be this new parenting model, which I will write about in more detail. Not sure if it has changed Lu, or us, or both, but if we can keep on having more of the fun where we laugh about marauding polar bears, we're gonna keep it up.

'Tis the Reasoning for the Season

One day last week when Jason picked Lu up from Crenshaw's, Miss Carol noted that Lucy told her we celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, which we, uh, don't.

Then we were reading this cute book called "Three French Hens," in which the three kosher chickens don't celebrate Christmas. She said, "Kosher means Jewish?" And I explained as best I could about kosher dietary rules that some Jewish people follow.

She then asked if we are Jewish. I said no, we are Christian. "What's the difference?" she wants to know. I explain that Jews and Christians have a lot in common, etc., etc., but that we believe Jesus was the son of God, etc., etc. I clearly need to be taking this child to Sunday school.

And then: "How do you get Jewish?" "You mean, how do you become Jewish?" "Yes." "Well, you can convert, by deciding to become Jewish, or you can be born that way."

Then she really stumped me. "But you don't believe ANYTHING when you're born, so how can you be anything?!" Rather than go into any detail about ethnicity vs. cultural identity vs. religious affiliation, I explain feebly, "Well, when you're born, your parents try to raise you to believe what they believe."

She thinks on this for a moment and says, "I'm ready for bed now." Thank God.