Funny story #3

So, Thursday, Hannah and I were in the car coming home from Noah's birthday party. For weeks now, Hannah has talked about Becky and how much she doesn't like her. On the way to the party, Hannah said that she hoped that Becky wasn't coming to the party.

On the way home, I asked, "Was Becky there?"

"Yes," came a very disgruntled reply from my daughter.

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. Eva was there with all her little callingrounds, so Becky was by Eva."

Eva is a girl in Hannah's class who is quite cute and seems nice. But I was struck by the word she used, so I asked, "What did you just say?"

"I said 'callingrounds'."

"What is a 'callinground'?

"Well, it's a compound word, Mom, that I made up. I chose 'calling' because when Eva comes calling they all gather 'round.'"

Trying to hide my excitement that my daughter just created her own word and used it effectively, I asked, "Who else uses that word, Hannah?"

"Just me," she said suredly.

"So, Eva is like a little queen bee, then," I replied.

"What is a queen bee?" she asks.

"Well, when Eva wants something the rest of them bring her what she wants like little honey bees."

"Well, I'm going to be a praying mantis then and eat Becky, the little honey bee."

"Uhh, Hannah, that doesn't sound very nice of you."

"What do you mean?" she questions.

"You just described yourself as a praying mantis who was going to eat Becky. That doesn't sound very nice."

"Hmph," was all she said and she shrugged her shoulders.

But how funny is that?!! First of all I am thrilled that she created her own word, and secondly I'm so amazed at how sure of herself she is at times. I mean, who would ever think to describe herself as a praying mantis? As we all know, Hannah has a tendency to ramble on and on and on and on and on, and often it is hard for me to listen to what she says because most of the time, she's not saying anything important (like the time when she detailed word for word what the fireman told them when he visited her Brownie Troop). But, it's times like these that I'm glad I force myself to pay attention to her, because if I didn't, I would have missed out on one funny story!