To the little girl in the park

I will preface this post by saying I am not good with dealing with bigger children. When I mean bigger children, I mean kids who are older than darling daughter. Before she was born, my exposure to children was very limited, so when I have to deal with older children, I usually become stumped as what to say to them.

As you know, darling daughter absolutely loves swings. So I try to take her to the park at least once a day, especially since our park-going days are numbered as the fall weather approaches. Recently, we met a very engaging little girl at the park. I almost feel like I should correct myself because the last time I called a little girl a little girl, I was corrected by said little girl, who unequivocally stated that she was a big girl, not a little girl.

Well, this engaging little girl who we met at the park was very talkative. She talked a mile a minute and had a very active imagination. She wanted to make darling daughter into a rainbow. Then she changed her mind and wondered if she wouldn't mind playing the role of Scooby Doo. I said, probably not as she was a bit to young to play the part of a dog. But someone needed to play the part, the little girl insisted as she was going to play Daphney and I could play Velma, who was the smartest one of the bunch.

I tried to be engaging as I could, but quite honestly I don't know how to react in these types of situations. I was taken aback when she asked me if I thought she was lazy because she wanted someone to give her a push on the swing. I tried to subdue my laughter. She said, be honest, you can tell me if I'm lazy, she bluntly told me. I hummed and hawed and I eventually told her that I couldn't really comment as I had only just met her. But she took no heed and demanded me to give her an answer before I left the park. Reader's Digest is right, kids do say the darndest things.

I didn't end up giving her an answer. In fact, I left the park quietly. In hindsight, I wish I was a little bit more friendly towards her as she was a delightful little girl with plenty of energy and imagination.