Question Mark Died
"Let's get that snail. They don't do ANYTHING!"
Like many parents, I spend much of the weekend running errands and driving kids around to various activities. I’m always amused whenever I’m able to eavesdrop on tween conversations. Depending on the combination, I’ll either hear nothing because they’re texting each other about something private or they’re speed talkers, as if they may run out of time to make their points. Is this a girl thing? They make my son and his friends seem like they’re operating in slow motion.
For some reason, my daughter and a friend are talking about pet fish. (We’ve gone through many and are long past the “Circle of Life” speech.) The friend proclaims, “My fish lasted 5 years.” I remark that 5 years is a long time for a pet fish. She replies, “Okay, maybe it was 4 years or 3 or so. But that thing would not die!”
My daughter shares the story of our beta fish. One for her and one for her older brother in a side-by-side container. She recalls how she made a name tag for her fish and just put a question mark on her brother’s side. So, he named that fish “Question Mark”. She describes their colors and adds, “But then Question Mark died.” End of story.
"Look, Octomom is attacking Kate!"
“Who do you have for science?”, the friend asks. They continue to talk about their school, people at school, television shows, food, clothes and cell phones. There is not a minute in which they’re not talking or giggling. They make me giggle, too.
