Kidquips 4

December 4, 2009 | My Jottings

I love the precious things my grandchildren say. And sometimes what they say is so funny I have a hard time keeping a straight face because their comments and questions are so off the wall. I try to take them seriously, though, because they’re often so solemn and earnest when they speak in the philosophical ways they do.

So, recently my four year-old granddaughter Vivienne was sitting on my lap. She studied my face intently and then posed this question: “Grandma why do you have stripes on your face?”

I tried not to chuckle at her innocent query. After all, what does a four year-old know about aging skin? Not a thing.

Before I tell you what I told Vivie, here are the “stripes” of which she spoke:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could have responded with any number of answers, all of which are true. I could have said:

1. “Because I have a lot of Irish and Scottish blood in me, and my ancestors were most likely fair and freckled like I am.”

2.  “Because when I grew up in Southern California I used to go to the beach often with my friends and we would slather ourselves with baby oil and foolishly lay in the sun until we roasted.”

3.  “Because I’ve had at least ten blistering sunburns in my life.”

4.  “Because if you average one smile per day (which is much too conservative, of course), I have smiled at least 19,000 times in my lifetime.” It’s probably closer to 157,000 times, though. 🙂

5.  “Because I don’t belong to the Joan Rivers Society of Friends.”

6.  “Because I only moisturize my skin about four to six times a year.”

7.  “Because I’m one of the few who thinks Botox use is almost as noticeable as wrinkles.”

What I did say to Vivie was, “Because Grandma is getting older, and sometimes older skin gets stripes on it. Most people call them wrinkles.”

She listened intently, then reached up and patted my stripes very gently.

Then she hopped off my lap and trotted off to draw some flowers with her crayons.