The table I like was open, so snagged it.
I'm sitting by the window, draped in sunlight, while pulling out my notebook and my laptop. A couple of tables over, a woman and a young girl are chit-chatting in the sort of way where, after sentence gets said, it gets repeated like a call-and-response.
The kiddo's sporting a ponytail with some food on her face, and her feet are dangling from the wooden chair without reaching the footrest (let alone the floor). The woman's asking her questions a mom would probably know the answers to, so maybe this is a babysitter? Or maybe a young grandmother?
I'm trying not to eavesdrop but I'm still fishing for my headphones in my bag and this kid's babbling. She's holding a butter knife and proudly showing off her culinary expertise with what many would call a marvelous take on Jam On Toast.
Kinda young to be wielding a knife, though, right?
Huh, what age would be more fitting?
I guess I'm a bit rusty on the cognitive development models I used to be able to readily recall...
"Honey, remember we have to be careful when using—"
"YA.
"Jessica, um... Jessica... she... she cutted herslelf"
I don't know who Jessica is, but I'm betting I'm about to find out. In fact, the woman asks a quick follow up question to figure out whether that was something that happened at school or if this was a story the girl heard second-hand.
Silence.
"Honey, did that happen at school?"
Ahhh... shorter phrasing. Nice. And no compound structure, either—the woman's trying to go one question at a time...
"uh huh..."
I didn't catch the rest of their conversation. My headphones are on now and I'm looking out the window, completely lost in thought. I've just realized that plenty of people still do that as adults—say nothing when they don't understand the question.
Are you someone who asks for clarification? Or do you try to use context clues and catch yourself up?
onward.
For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.