I've been having a most interesting time, lately. My neigbor's child minder got sick, so I was drafted to look after the six-year-old Jessie, me being the only responsible, (ha!) adult available at the time. I'm really enjoying myself, but I must take my hat off to all you parents. I don't know how you do it, 24/7. In mere days, we have filled every moment of every hour. We've played board games and computer games, made chocolate 'soup', baked cookies, gone for walks, watched too many Sponge Bob Square Pants repeats to mention, and talked about any old thing that came to mind. Her mind, that is. :-)
Today she had settled in to watch Sponge Bob again, then noticed me tapping on my laptop. "What are you doing?" she demanded and leaned in to get a close look.
"Writing a book," I said enigmatically. Didn't want to bore her with details.
Off went the TV. "What is it? I mean, I know it's a book, but what's the story?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's about the future," I began, waiting for her eyes to glaze over. But they didn't. I found myself giving her the synopsis, using more colorful phrases than usual to bring it to life.
When I finished, she smiled hugely, displaying tiny white teeth with a gap in the middle, and then returned to Sponge Bob. I don't think I've ever had such an ecstatic reaction before. Whether she understood the story, I don't know, but she certainly let me feel like a bestselling author!
I made her late for school today because we got involved in WebKyns or something, a computer game that she likes, and I didn't notice the time go. Who needs to do the growing up here, I wonder!