Civilizating the young
Sep. 12th, 2009 11:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrFiona and I went to see a Guthrie preview performance of The Importance of Being Earnest tonight, tickets courtesy of Project Success (Delia, alas, was feeling under the weather, so she and Rob stayed home). There was a little tussle about dress code right before we left. Fiona had on one of her favorite skirts, a tiered confection that has seen better days. The material is quite worn but she has repeatedly darned the seams with (mismatching) thread because she can't bear to throw it out. I took exception, however, when I noticed that a seam had given away yet again, and a gap about six inches wide and eighteen inches long had opened up on the side. Fiona noticed me noticing the gap and wrinkled her nose. "I suppose I have to change it?"
"Good guess," I told her dryly.
So, grumbling, she went and changed into another skirt, just as pretty if somehow not quite as dear to her heart. I made her go back again when I noticed she was wearing flip flops. The ones that had been repaired at least twelve times with duct tape.
"But I hate wearing shoes. If I had my way, I'd wear flip flops until it snows in November, and then I'd wear my snow boots everywhere the entire winter."
"It's the Guthrie," I said, smiling with that steely edge that she knows means that Mommy is going to be a hard ass about this.
The play was delightful. We went out during the intermission and purchased a cup of ice cream for each of us. "Spoons?" I asked the woman behind the bar taking the money.
"They're underneath the lids," Fiona told me.
So we moved away and pulled off the lids. I discovered the plastic spoon fastened underneath, pried it off, and dug in. Fiona absentmindedly flipped the lid into the garbage can--and then groaned as she realized what she had done.
I rolled my eyes at her. "Here," I said, reaching over and scooping up a bit of ice cream from her cup and then popping it into her mouth. "We can share my spoon."
"That's okay," she said in perfect seriousness. "I have a really long tongue. I can just lick it out of the cup. I do it with pudding cups when I'm eating lunch at school all the time."
I looked around us at the elegant lobby, the nicely dressed people milling around, and I started to laugh. "Fiona," I managed. "You will be eighteen in two years. By the time you leave home, you will need to be entirely civilized. I'm starting to realize that I'm going to need every single minute."
"Good guess," I told her dryly.
So, grumbling, she went and changed into another skirt, just as pretty if somehow not quite as dear to her heart. I made her go back again when I noticed she was wearing flip flops. The ones that had been repaired at least twelve times with duct tape.
"But I hate wearing shoes. If I had my way, I'd wear flip flops until it snows in November, and then I'd wear my snow boots everywhere the entire winter."
"It's the Guthrie," I said, smiling with that steely edge that she knows means that Mommy is going to be a hard ass about this.
The play was delightful. We went out during the intermission and purchased a cup of ice cream for each of us. "Spoons?" I asked the woman behind the bar taking the money.
"They're underneath the lids," Fiona told me.
So we moved away and pulled off the lids. I discovered the plastic spoon fastened underneath, pried it off, and dug in. Fiona absentmindedly flipped the lid into the garbage can--and then groaned as she realized what she had done.
I rolled my eyes at her. "Here," I said, reaching over and scooping up a bit of ice cream from her cup and then popping it into her mouth. "We can share my spoon."
"That's okay," she said in perfect seriousness. "I have a really long tongue. I can just lick it out of the cup. I do it with pudding cups when I'm eating lunch at school all the time."
I looked around us at the elegant lobby, the nicely dressed people milling around, and I started to laugh. "Fiona," I managed. "You will be eighteen in two years. By the time you leave home, you will need to be entirely civilized. I'm starting to realize that I'm going to need every single minute."