Musings from Graceland

INTERVIEW WITH A NEWLY TURNED 8 YEAR OLD
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LG asked me this evening if I would interview her regarding her birthday as I did for her brother T. How could I turn down such a request? So here goes:

LG, tell us about your birthday celebration.

Well, me and my friend and her mom went off to a Chinese kind of Mexican restaurant and then we went to Pet's Mark and we looked at all the animals. And after we left, we dropped them off at their house and we went back home to have my party. And first, we played. And then after that, they brought out the cake. I blew out all the candles. And then, and I opened up all my presents. And then we ate. And also we had pizza and...what type of cake was it?

Cheesecake.

Cheesecake.

Did you like the cheesecake?

Yes.

What did you get for your presents?

Um, Littlest Pet Shop, candy, a coloring book, a journal, a ball, a Littlest Pet Shop stuffed animal.

What was your favorite?

That's real hard. I can't decide.

Do you have maybe two that were your favorite?

Uh...more than that.

So you got some really good gifts, huh?

Uh, huh.

So how does it feel to be 8?

Great!

Do you feel a lot older?

Yeah.

Do you feel different?

No.

So why do you feel older?

Because I'm 8.

What do you think you will be doing in 10 years from now when you turn 18?

I'll be going to college. And while I'm at college I'll be taking classes.

What kind of classes?

Like art, martial arts, and that's it.

Where do you think you want to go to college?

I don't know.

Well what do you want to do as a job when you finish college?

Be an artist.

What kind?

Those people that like are at their house and they make pictures or they go on the street and paint pictures.

What do you think you'll paint pictures of?

I don't know. I mean it's all that time away.

That's true. Do you have a dream place you want to live?

Either...there's 3 places....and that's New York, Hollywood, and France.

Why New York?

Because they have all those big building and it's real cool there and everything's nice.

What about Hollywood?

Well, that place is real nice, too, and probably I could be in a movie.

So an artist AND an actress?

No, those two jobs are what I really want to be but I can't decide what I want to do.

And France?

Because they have all those neat places and all that great food and it's beautiful.

You might can visit your big sister B if she's living there.

I don't think so.

Why not?

'Cause B already has this other place.

I'm sure she'd let you visit her.

But she's not going to be living in France.

She's not?

Yeah, she's living somewhere else.

Where?

I forgot where she said it was but it wasn't France.

Denmark? Holland? Romania?

No, no, no, no, no.

England?

No.

A tropical island?

No.

Okay, so you'll be somewhere that B is not.

I told you.

You told me what?

I told you that she's not going to be living where I'm going to be living.

Okay. Well it sounds like you have some exciting plans for...

My future?

...yes...your future.

[She snickers]

Anything else you want to tell about your birthday or your plans for the future?

Can't I talk about something else?

What?

Like what's your favorite food. What's your favorite color?

Well, my favorite food is popcorn and Tex Mex and dark chocolate and...

That's you!

Well you said you wanted to talk about...

I mean me!!!!!

OH! Okay, so what's your favorite food?

I have 10 favorite sweets.

10??????

Yeah. Those are my top. Okay, let me say them: brownies, American flag cake, cheesecake, cookies, ice cream, Hershey chocolate, the new strawberry Whoppers, and the plain Whoppers, jello----wait! There's still 5 more types I remembered.

Okay, so go on.

Nerds, suckers, Tootsie-Rolls, rice krispy treats, OH! blueberry pie.

Wow. That's a lot of sweets. And you left out donuts.

I still haven't said all of them.

You haven't?

Yes.

Okay, go ahead.

Donuts, pumpkin pie, candy sticks, Twizzlers, fudge, and cakes.

That it?

No, there's still two more. M&M's and Crunch bars.

Ooh, I like those.

Me, too.

So any other foods that are favorites and NOT sweet?

Yeah. Hamburgers, pizza, waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs, ramen noodles, angel hair pasta, the shells macaroni-and-cheese, hot dogs, Cheetos, grits, oatmeal, rolls, brown bread, cheesy tortillas, cream-of-wheat, Chinese food, subway sandwiches, popcorn, catfish, shrimp, fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, sausage, broccoli...

That sure is a lot.

I know.

Are you done?

Yeah.

What's your favorite color?

Well, I have three favorites: blue, red, orange.

What is your favorite kind of animal?

Kittens.

Favorite kind of music?

Taylor Swift and The Jonas Brothers.

You have good taste.

But I still haven't finished.

Finished what?

You asked me what are all my favorite musics. I still haven't told you all of them.

Oops, sorry. Okay, tell away.

And a few of the Spirit songs.

From the horse movie, Spirit, right?

Yeah.

Is that all?

No, there's a few others that I really like but I don't know what band they're from.

Maybe I can help you.

But I also forgot a few of the songs.

Can you remember any of the words?

Uh........no. But I do remember that they were really good and I really liked them.

Okay.

Any thing else that you want to ask me?

Who is your favorite mom?

But you are my only mom!

So am I your favorite mom?

But you're the ONLY one who is my mom. No one else is my mom. So I don't know what it feels like to have anyone else. Except, of course, in the Roberts family.

Yeah, you know what their mom is like.

Yeah, 'cause I'm with them like every single day.

You are?

No, I said "like".

Ah.

Aren't you going to ask me any others? Questions?

Hmmmmmmm....what's your favorite subject or thing to do in homeschool?

Well, a few of the things in history are fun.

I didn't know you were doing history yet.

Oh, I do. Sometimes I listen to what the boys are doing.

And then, you do history also when you watch Liberty's Kids or go to museums with us or hear Daddy talk about it at supper and things like that.

Yeah. Now are you going to ask me anything else?

Is there something you do NOT like doing in homeschool?

Yeah. Copywork and Explode-the-Code.

I thought you liked Explode-the-Code.

That was back then when it was easy. But now it's boring. Even though I have to do it.

Why is it boring?

'Cause everything is too easy.

But you just said you liked it when it was too easy.

Can you please stop messing me up?

How am I messing you up?

You're confusing me.

YOU're confusing ME!

No I'm not.

Yes you are.

No I'm not.

Yes you are.

Now can we change the subject?

Okay, so what's your favorite time of the day?

4:30.

Why?

Because my favorite TV show is on.

Which is?

FETCH. It's this game show where 6 contestants sometimes go out but some of them stay in. Some of them go. Sometimes all of them go. And they split into teams. And the people that stay back, they do this half-time quiz show where they get points but the person who has the most points at the end gets a prize. And the place that the people stay at and go back into is called Studio G. But sometimes people call it the garage.

What is your LEAST favorite time of the day?

That would be at 10.

In the morning or at night?

At the morning.

Because?

I have to do all these chores. No break. Except when I'm watching [my little sister] but sometimes I don't do it at 10. And because sometimes the ground is wet so it gets my feet all muddy. And dirty. That's why.

Poor, poor LG. You work so hard.

Now are you going to ask me anything else?

When is your bedtime?

Sometimes on Fridays my bedtime is at 8:30. But on normal days just 8:00. But soon, I'll get to stay up til 8:30 but on Fridays, 9:00.

Well guess what time it is right now?

9:13.

And so what does that mean?

It's my bedtime? But tonight, my mom is letting me stay up later. Sometimes I get to stay up later than my time. But sometimes earlier, like 7:30.

Well, since it's now 9:14, who is your favorite mom?

You already asked that question.

But in light of the fact that you are staying up SO late, don't you think you could know for sure who your favorite mom is?

But you already asked me that question. Maybe if you look up higher than this, you'll see.

Sigh....so little appreciation is given to me for my kindness.

Oh, and thank you for letting me stay up later. Oh, and for cooking breakfast. And lunch. And dinner.

Well, all those are nice things to say to me. But guess what?

It's bedtime.

YES! You guessed the correct answer!

YES!!!!!! Oh.....I still have to go to bed. Oh come on, can't I stay up a little bit later?

Shnope. Time for you and the newborn baby kitty to be heading upstairs.

But the baby kitten is downstairs and I might wake him up.

Very, very carefully. Goodnight.

Okay.......... this stinks, this stinks, this stinks, this stinks.

Goodnight.

I'm going to bed already.

I love you.

Love you, too!