Clementine and Penelope: 06/01/2008

6.28.2008

I Cannot Tell A Lie

Dad here:

Well, the first lengthy, wordy post I wrote had to do with the first time Clementine told a joke, and the joy it brought me. Today I tell of a not-so-happy first. Her first premeditated lie.

It was a small one, and one that after the initial shock wore off, seemed like nothing more than her pretending, but certainly could have been her way of stealing the spotlight back from her sister. She was playing outside on the deck, and P.J. had accidentally knocked over her toy chair and whined about it a little, and I had encouraged P.J. to just pick it up on her own. Clementine very carefully took her own chair and gently toppled it on the ground, and said without much conviction "I hurt myself."

I would be much more concerned if I thought that she thought that this ruse might work, but it was a little dispiriting nonetheless. Could we have taught her to lie at this young age. She already tells us fanciful tales of things that never happened, and we chalk it up to imagination. In the moment, I decided that she just wanted a little attention, and we had a wonderful chat about what exciting things she had done that day, and there was no similar incident the rest of the night.

I hope that this is some early indication of things to come, I thought I would get at least a decade before she thought that lying to us would get her anywhere, and I hope I keep my wits about me long enough that she can't so easily get over on me even then.

Joke's On You

Note to readers: This was written back in April. I had finished 95% of it, and set it aside because I wasn't sure it fit here on the girls' blog. Now I think that if I don't include it here it might be lost to my feeble memory forever, so away we go. (this might end up being the first in a series)

Dad here:

There are many momentous occasions in a child's life: first word, first step, first birthday, etc. This week, though, Clementine had a first that made me particularly proud. She told me her first joke. It was last night at bedtime, and we were all in the girls' bedroom. She said something to me that sounded like "tinkwa" and I was confused and chuckled as I asked her to repeat it. Well, after repeating it she chuckled. Her chuckle made me laugh, and my laugh is all it takes to get her going, so off she went. "Tinkwa", "tinkwa", "tinkwa" she would repeat and laugh. (I never said it was a good joke) She kept at it for at least a minute straight while I tried with all my might not to laugh, and failed miserably.

It wasn't a very good joke (does that comment make me her first heckler?), but I felt all-encompassing joy to hear her laugh so richly at her own gibberish. I can't wait for the second joke.

Postscript:

Tonight Julie figured out what she was saying, and it turns out it wasn't gibberish, it was her way of weakening her "L"'s. She was saying "twinkle" as in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, as we sometimes sing at night.