The World According to Kayla

Hi Everyone!

Kayla telling Darwin what to do.

We had the chance to take Kayla and a friend bowling this weekend, which meant Mark and I had the rare privilege to eavesdrop on the conversation between two almost 10 year olds.  The trip bowling put Kayla in such a good mood that her personality was still bubbling over on Sunday. 

• “We already squealed about that.”

Kayla was invited to be in the Purple Ambassadors at her elementary school a couple of weeks ago.  It is the equivalent of an honor society for fourth graders and it is a big deal to be asked to be in it.  Mark and I did not know that Kayla’s friend, whom I will call “R,” had also been asked to be in it until we heard R and Kayla discussing the Monday morning 7 a.m. meeting.  I turned my head to R in the back seat and asked her if she was in the Purple Ambassadors too.  Before R could answer, Kayla said, “Yes, she is.  We already squealed together about that.” 

Apparently I missed the celebration.

• Whale

R lives down a county road, about five minutes from town, and Mark and I are always afraid that we are going to miss her house.  Kayla reassured us from the back seat.  “I know exactly where it is; it is the house with the whale in front.”  I know R’s mother and grandmother and the idea of some kind of a whale decoration in the front yard seemed a little out-of-place, so I asked Kayla if she was sure.  Kayla said that yes, she was sure, then she said, “You know, Mama, the thing where the water comes out of the ground.”  Her Southern accent, in its most extreme form, had gotten us again – she was saying “well” not “whale.”

• Multiplication

Sunday afternoon late, we decided to go get Mark’s mother and take her to Outback.  On the way down there, I asked Kayla what she had done while Mark and I were taking our naps that afternoon.  She told me she had practiced grammar on her computer (a hand-me-down, stripped-down laptop from Mark), combining sentences.  (For example, she would type, “Kate is running” then “John is running” then combine the sentences to “Kate and John are running.”)  I said, “That’s nice,” then asked her if she had worked any on her multiplication tables.  A half-laugh, half-“Mom you must be out of your mind”  “Huh!”  came out of the back seat.  Then she decided that a more polite answer would be appropriate, and added, “No, ma’am.”

• Itch

The best line of all came that night at supper though.  Mark’s mom was talking about someone who has to have a medical procedure next week and that she had put that person on the prayer list at her Sunday School class.  “After all, ” she added, “Prayer never hurts!”  All of us nodded agreement at the table, then Kayla added, “But a bad itch does!” 

The rest of Outback must have wondered why our table was laughing so hard.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy