One of the dangers of being an information specialist is the compulsion to have an answer to everything. Kids ask questions, I try to answer. I'm usually successful at finding the real answers, but sometimes I just can't be bothered to look it up. But that doesn't stop me from giving one. And if my answer is truly ridiculous and the kid is truly curious, they might even look it up themselves!
Sarah came home this weekend and the two of us had a delightful time on Friday evening. We went out and had Chinese food (Moo Goo Guy Pen, Sesame Chicken, Fried Rice!), and visited Dollar Tree (wonderful storage boxes, cute headbands!). For watercolor class, she has to paint a copy of an Old Master's Painting, so we went to school to visit the library and brought home a plethora of books. One was Arabian Nights which was illustrated with beautiful Middle Eastern paintings. Sarah (an art major!) said, "I didn't know Arabian Nights was Chinese."
"They aren't. They are Middle Eastern--Arabian--Saudi Arabia???" I replied.
"But these paintings look Chinese."
"No they don't." I told her. "Asian paintings have lots of Cherry Blossoms and Storks and slanty-eyed people." (please forgive the racial stereotype for the sake of this story. Thank you.) Middle Eastern Paintings have lots of horses and willow trees and the people seem to have a crook in their necks."
"Really? Are you just making that up?" (perhaps the slanty eyed remark tipped her off!) she asked.
"No I'm not. Look through those pictures." She turns the pages. And guess what! Most of the pictures have at least one of those elements in it!
Sarah loves our cat Patch and when she comes home spends a lot of time hugging, petting, roughing up her fur and just enjoying her. She was lying on the kitchen floor with Patch on her chest and tugging and pulling at the cat's loose skin. "Mom, why do you think cats have so much extra skin?"
"To help them get away from predators. If something tries to grab hold the cat to eat her up, it will just get a mouth full of skin and fur and the cat can get away. Patch might have a hole in her hide, but at least she will be alive." (sounds great, doncha think?)
"Mom, you're so full of Bull C***!"
So, now you know!
p.s. If you're truly curious about paintings to illustrate the Arabian Nights, look it up!
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3 comments:
So, according to my calculations I have 13 more years of making stuff up before my kids understand that I don't really know everything? I'm excluding the teenage years of I "know nothing."
HAHA! Much better told by you! Especially since I probably would have never posted this!
Oh, Andi, just make it a lifetime of embroidering or even falsifying the truth! Make life interesting!
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