1 Mother 2 Another

Said yesterday morning while getting ready
for school:


Cora: “Mommy, can I ride my scooter to school this
morning?”


Me: “Of course!”


Cora: “Yippee!”


Me: “Why are you so excited about riding your scooter to
school?”


Cora: “Because I really love the sound of my shoe softly
tapping the pavement when I push.”


And she ran off.

Cora has a remarkable facility with words,
and while it can be annoying – think of a legalistic,
argumentative lawyer, then shrink it into a five-year-old who wants
to argue what “most of your dinner needs to be eaten”
means – there’s also a sweetness to hearing her express
herself so well.


A couple weeks ago I picked Cora up from a playdate at a
friend’s house and the mother drew me aside for a moment.
“Does Cora read a lot?”


I was startled. “She’s starting to recognize words, but
not really yet, no.”


“Well,” the other mom continued, “She sure must
read books with you a lot then.” And she went on to explain.


Early in the play date Cora’s friend had run downstairs for a
moment, and from the kitchen she became worried Cora would not know
where she was so she shouted up pre-emptively, “Cora,
I’m downstairs in case you didn’t know!”


“I knew that,” Cora’s voice floated from the
upstairs bedroom. “I heard the sound of your hand quietly
skating down the banister as you descended to your kitchen.”


Yep, that’s my kiddo.