Casper and Kale

Casper ~ We’re on the couch watching Casper cartoons on my iPad, and Temple, who’s four, says, “Have you noticed that I haven’t pulled on your old skin today?” Little Miss Blue Eyes has this thing about tweaking the flesh on the back of my hand and watching it remain in a wrinkled peak.
I said, “Yes, I have noticed, and I appreciate that, thank you.
June 2012

Wiggly Skin ~ When I read to her, or we watch movies, she sits close to me, slightly pinching the skin on the back of my hand or jiggling my underarm. I give her an evil look from slanted eyes and inquire, “What are you doing?” She knows it drives me crazy.
“I can’t help it,” she sighs. “Your skin is so wiggly. I just like it.”
She used to pull the neck crepe under my chin, which REALLY drove me nuts. She doesn’t do that anymore, which is one of the reasons she’s made it to the age of five.
June 2013

Food Fans ~ Temple and I cook together, then we eat, and while we eat, we name all the ingredients in the dish. We usually make one-pot meals or salads with a variety of food, so there’s a lot going on in them.
During dinner she inquires, “Oma, what are you a fan of?”
I say, “What?” having no idea what she means.
She says, “You know, food. What foods are you a fan of.”
I say, “Oh. Well, I’m a fan of shrimp, asparagus, sushi, and dark chocolate.”
She then asks, “What are you not a fan of?”
I answer, “Black licorice, coffee, and wine.”
So of course I ask her, “What are you a fan of?”
She says, “Broccoli and kale.”
I say, “You are the oddest five-year-old I’ve ever met.”
She laughs.
2013

Kids ~ I’m lucky to have grandchildren who’ll eat anything, or at least taste it before they turn up their nose. Even it’s not to their liking, they’ll still try a small amount, which gives me one less thing to worry about with all those starving kids in China. For lunch one day I fixed Temple a plate of quesadillas, her favorite go-to meal when she’s over. I was out of cheddar and jack, so used what I had. 
“Oma, this goat cheese is delicious!”
“Now how do you know that’s goat cheese?”
“Silly, because it smells like goats!”
Now how does this five-year-old know what goats smell like? It’s not as if she lives on a goat farm or has them in her backyard.
2013

© 2012, 2013. Catherine Sevenau.
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