Little kids have rather big brains don’t they? I often marvel at how they can offer simple, smart solutions whilst problem-solving when we adults tend to over-complicate, thanks in part to their more intimate, less tainted view of the world. Their world. Our collective world.
Florence is 4 in November but her age is beguiling as not only does she look but she also sounds far older.
I wanted to share some of her most recent pearls of wisdom, so as always, I can retain them here in my digital family album, forever.
Blogging after all, is first for the diarist and second, thanks to the internet, for you, the reader. I think those who storytell best never lose sight of that.
So let’s get to Florence’s precocious statements.
Handing me a Christmas card she’d made at pre school, Florence announced, ‘Look, my autograph is on the back’! And there was her name. I had no idea she even knew that word!
Tidying her wooden kitchen and toy boxes aka packing away toys she no longer uses for the charity shop, Florence said, “Are you throwing away my toys”.
“No sweetie, I’m sorting” I said.
“Oh, OK”, she replied, “You’re just organising”. What a clever little sausage!
She woke up on Saturday and asked her Dad, ‘Are you going to work today’. When he replied he wasn’t, she said, ‘Why don’t you go for a little walk’. She loves a walk!
On explaining a strange throbbing pain in my ear this morning, Florence casually replied, “I think you just need ear drops, Mummy”. I think I do too. I slept on the wrong side, and woke up with a pain that feels like someone’s jabbing my ear with a burning hot rod so I will need some medical assistance.
Whenever Florence overhears me mentioning a planned trip to a cafe or restaurant with friends, she immediately wants to join and pipes up, “I want to come to a cafe, I love going to cafes”. Oh, do I know. So does my bank account.
Florence’s pre school use a photo app to keep parents up to date and she told me yesterday, “I tell my teachers to take pictures of me and my paintings to send to you”. The girl likes a photo!
When I suggested we grab a bite at a food market recently and stand up to eat, she was horrified!
Florence might still only be 3 but that girl likes a formal meal, sat down, even if it’s just a buttery croissant and hot chocolate. As a baby, I was often stopped by elderly women telling me what an old soul she was. There in my baby carrier, bouncing around on my chest, was a baby, “who’d been here before”. Maybe they were right, she is quite ladylike.
Losing our way on a walk by the River Nidd in Knaresborough, she quickly urged me to, “Ask that man with the dog for directions, he’ll know”. So we did and he knew.
Children really are clever little sausages and I for one am learning from mine every single day.
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Greek Myths, Folktales & Legends for 9-12 year olds
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