Saturday, October 16, 2010

You're how old again?

I honestly forget sometimes how old my kids are.

Having 3 older ones who now call themselves adult, the whole age things gets lost in translation.

I always seem to think the younger ones are older than they are.

Well most of the time.

This morning I was doing the morning commute alone because Jeff is in Coronado for a Karate Gasshuku. Which pretty much means he trains for hours and hours on end and they may give him a an hour or two to sleep here and there. This also means leaving me as acting (?) adult to hold down the fort for 3 days. He is a mighty trusting fellow because I dont think I'd trust me for days alone with these kids. Someone might not make it through the weekend unscathed, and I'm betting it would be me.

So an-eeeey-waaay..... I'm on the last turn before I drop Alex off at high school... He has his hand on the door so the minute the car slows down enough to where he thinks he can make the jump and roll with a minimum amount of injury, he will open the door and escape the circus that is often the morning car ride.

Jeffrey and Katherine are trying to think of things the other can't spell.

Jeffrey stumped Katherine with antidisestablishmentarianism. (This is what happens when your older brother is in honors classes and you ask him what the longest word he knows is.)

After Katherine calls foul because that wasn't one of their spelling words. Jeffrey concedes and tries again.

"Spell I-cup Katherine."

"Eye-cup?"

"Yeah I-cup"

"Like a cup you can put your eye in?"
(Now see thats just being creative because I was thinking a cup you put OVER your eye).

"NO silly.... like I or me.. then cup..spell it"

I am glancing in the rear-view mirror and Katherine is giving him quite a look..wondering what the trick is since it is quite obvious to her that she can spell that...

"Just spell it... go ahead...."

***BIG SIGH***

"OK.... I-C-U-P"

Lots of stifled giggling from the left side of the car.

Lots of confused glaring from the right side of the car.

"Get it?"

***giggle giggle giggle***

"No... whats so funny about I-C-U-P?"

Stifled giggling has turned into an out right belly laugh.

I glance at Alex who is still poised for his escape but he is shaking his head and has a smile on his face.

"JEFFREY!! WHAT IS SO FUNNY???"

"Say it REEAAALLLLLY slow...."

At this point I think she would rather have just clobbered him but not wanting to be left out of the joke she says it loudly and deliberately.

"I SEE YOU PEE"

Silence followed by

"JEFFREY!!! THAT IS NOT FUNNY!"

But she was giggling while trying to look mad.

These are the moments that remind me of how young they really are..