The Richness of Seven

She is 7.
And such a thinker.
In three hours of travel,
the conversation is rich.

We talk about the difference between
hotel
and
motel.
And hostel.

The falling feeling you get sometimes just before you fall asleep.

We talked about the 'incident'
of the family garage.
And what insurance is covering, and what it is not.
"Apparently..."
and she uses the word insurance in context!

She shares funny stories about her brother,
and I share a funny story about mine.

I share a funny story about her, too.

Giggles all around.

She asks what 'contaminated' means.
"Like when a baby poops in the pool, it gets contaminated."

She tells us that Santa brought her a microscope,
but the light didn't work
because the elves had to make more than usual,
so Santa gave Mom and Dad money
to buy a new one,
and he and Mrs. Claus are telling off the elves
for sloppy craftsmanship.

We talk about how each person has 46 chromosomes,
and what happens when you are missing bits of those.
Or what happens when you have an extra.
And what is cerebral palsy?

She spies a string of sodium orange lights on the horizon.
"Is that our city?"
"I... don't think so... your city is bigger. What is the population of your city, anyway?"
"I don't know what 'population' means!"
"It means the number of people..."

"Can I use your iPad?"
And away she goes.

It is quiet for a while.
...
"Are those the lights for our city?"
"I think so, Chica!"
"Yayyyyyy!"

We are home.
And who needs podcasts, anyway?