Thursday, November 1, 2007

numbers and the meaning of everything

When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.
A.A.Milne, Now we are six

on playing Uno...
Thomas (4) - "Look, Mummy, a 5 just alive!"
Jean (38) - "Yes, darling."
Thomas - "Look, Mummy, a 1 just begun!"
Jean - "Yes, sweety."
Thomas - "Look, Mummy, a 2 nearly new!"
Jean - "Yes, honey."
Thomas - "Look, Mummy, a Reverse spoodilyerse!"
...who said a mathematician can't be a poet?

on aging...
Thomas - "Mummy, when was Lizzy 3?"
Mummy - (calculating quickly) - "6 years ago, honey."
Thomas - "Mummy, when will Ben be 9?"
Jean - (more calculating) - "In 2 years."
Thomas - "Mummy, when will I be as big as Ben?"
Jean - (yet more calculating) - "In 3 years."
Thomas - "Mummy, how old was I when Lizzy was 7?"
Jean - (even more frantic calculating) - "You were 2."
Thomas - "Mummy, what did I do when I was 1?"
Jean - "You were a baby. You couldn't walk or talk yet."
Thomas - "Mummy, where was Andrew when I was 1?"
Jean - "He wasn't alive yet, honey."
Thomas - "Was he in your tummy?"
Jean - "No, he wasn't in my tummy yet. He was..."
...one of those awkward existential moments.

on being 100...
Thomas - "Mummy, when I'm 100, I will touch the ceiling!"
Jean - "Well, maybe not, but you will be much taller."
Thomas - "Mummy, when I'm 100, will I be as big as Daddy?"
Jean - "Yes, honey, you should be around the same size as Daddy, maybe even bigger."
Thomas - "Mummy, when I'm 100, will I go to heaven to be with God?"
Jean - "Well, I'm not sure when you'll go to heaven to be with God, but probably when you're about 80, not 100."
Thomas - "Mummy, where will you be when I'm 100?"
Jean - "Well, I probably won't be around any more, I'll be in heaven with God."
Thomas- "Will you be deaded, Mummy?"
Jean - "Well yes, honey..."
...another awkward existential moment.

Which is a faithful reporting of "3 hardly me" typical conversations between this "Now I'm 38, I'm simply great" mother and her "4 not much more" year old.

No comments: