Conversation Between Bruce and I, in the Car:

I: I don't know. I'm a little confused about what to get for Hannah for Christmas, you know? Five year olds are the worst to shop for. And this is her first Christmas*, so I want to make it special, you know?

B: [nods]

I: And I asked her, well, actually I didn't so much ask her as tease her because when she asked why I was shopping I told her I was out buying Christmas presents and you could see her little eyes light up and she was so excited and I teased her for a little bit when she asked me very coyly who I was buying presents for and I told her eventually that I might be in the market for a present for her, you know?

B: [nods]

I: And so she told me she would really really really love a guitar. And when I asked her how she liked the keyboard**, she said she loved it and that she already knows how to play one song, it goes, "C D G G G F E" and now she has a book so she can learn even more songs and isn't that great? And I really want to encourage her, because I have always wished that I'd had wanted to learn music, and here's someone who can, and why not encourage her when she's doing something creative and productive and she obviously loves it so much?

B: [nods] Oh yeah, totally. [nods some more]

I: And then she said that I shouldn't get her a guitar, because she thinks that maybe her parents are getting her a guitar, and that maybe I should get her something else instead, but she made sure to tell me that she already got that one dolly from Walmart, so don't get her that one dolly from Walmart, because she already got it. I'd get her a barbie, but she doesn't seem like a barbie girl, you know?

B: [nods]

I: I mean, I had friends when I was little who only wanted to play with baby dolls, but I was always more about dressing up Barbie for a night on the town with Ken, you know? I was way more into being cool and having boyfriends and going on dates than I was into having babies. I loved Barbie!

B: [nods]

I: Now that I think about it, so did my brother.

B: [silence, then explosive laughter]

__________________________________


*This is her first Christmas because she's a former Jehovah's Witness.

**The fun people in my family had a gathering the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hannah asked my mom if she was getting a present that day, and my mom gave her our old Casio keyboard. My mom is totally spoiling her. I love it.