"Mum?""Yes."
"How old is the hamster?"
"Quite old, I think he's nearly 3."
"How old is that in hamster years?"
"Oh about 70 I suppose"
"When he gets to 100 in hamster years, will the hamster queen send him a telegram?"
Children ask questions like puppies chew shoes. They hurl them at Mum when she's heaving great sighs, her bloodshot eyes blinking through smudged mascara and freshly dug wrinkles as she sorts out the laundry mountain. Then they hurl more at Dad when he's longing for ... something ... worn out from blood-sucking work, jobs to do and things not working properly.
Children gleefully soak up whatever answers they can get. They hear the facts, the delivery, the emotions draped around the words and the inconsistencies with what they heard yesterday. And then they digest, ponder, and conjure up a whole new set of questions ready to launch at anyone they suspect might give them a quality answer. And on it goes, until the quick-tongued, big-eared, relentlessly inquisitive little angels are finally silenced by sleep.
"Mum?"
"Yes."
"If the queen lives to be 100, will she send herself a telegram?"
it seems to NEVER end...my girls do this at ages 11 & 9. now i would be a 'little' worried if my 21 yr old did that LOL
ReplyDeleteThat is simply brilliant.
ReplyDeleteCiara, yes the 21 year old has probably slowed the questions down just a bit
ReplyDeleteDavid, thank you so much!
I like that question! Oh, the logic of children.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David, simply brilliant.
ReplyDeleteTruly perfect!
ReplyDelete:-Daryl
Priceless. That gives you about a year to come up with something!
ReplyDeleteBTW, the teen versions go more like:
Me - where's your phone?
Teen - Upstairs.
Me: - Why aren't you taking it with you?
Teen - (Pointing down to body) I don't have any pockets.
Me: - Then what about one of the thousands of bags you have?
Teen: - What's the point of carrying a bag when you've only got a phone in it?
Aagghh!
Well, will she? ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy days are full of questions, too. I'm happy to field as many as I need to, but I never mind being able to say, "Go ask your father" when it's something I don't know.
Great story.
Cute questions! I often fall into the 'Oh...I don't know....ask your dad...' mode too. Surprisingly, they find it frustrating when he responds with the same thing, but they put it down to our age.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite one from my son, when he was little was 'Why's the sky blue?' Followed by 'but how do you know that's it really blue?'
Bella :)
I think she should send her suggestion to the queen! V good idea Lx
ReplyDeleteI love childrens questions they seem to have a logic all of their own. I still ask lots of questions much to my husband's annoyance. It's how I learn! Debs x
ReplyDeleteI had to move my blog. I hope you'll come to see me. Love, Nora.
ReplyDeletehttp://brightandsunny.wordpress.com/
Well... would she?
ReplyDeleteHer mother got one!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely and how bright! as exhausting as it is I have to admit my daughter, nearly four keeps me on my toes with questions galore and now my lovely son, just two has started the WHY?
ReplyDeleteBy the way does the queen send herself a telegraph?
Delightful post. I could never answer probably 95% of my children's questions. And now that they're young adults, it's probably like 99%.
ReplyDeleteI love your hamster queen! And your children's questions! When we are 100, what will our children be asking us? "What DID you do with that telegram from the queen?"
Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteYou been tagged:
ReplyDelete1. Post the answer on your blog.
2. Pass this tag of love on to another precious person.
3. Please let me know when done
I'm with David and Frog, particularly liked the part about Dad worn out..blogthatmamax
ReplyDeleteAs David said, simply brilliant. You capture it so well.
ReplyDeleteI loved question time...wish my g'daughter were nearer, lol...I love the 70 year old hamster...
ReplyDeleteSandi
I suppose you could say that everybody in the kingdom has to send a telegram to the Queen on her hundredth b'day and that all the telegrams will be put into a giant perspex envelope and displayed on a plinth in Trafalgar Square
ReplyDeleteI just love the picture of the hamster in a crown. Wonderful questions aren't they - so creative and full of the joy of life. M :-)
ReplyDelete