Sunday Dinner Conversation from the Marmot House
Madame 3-yr-old: Aunt, why aren't you married?
MBC: Well, I haven't found someone I want to marry.
Madame 3-yr-old: You don't know who you're going to marry?!
[The marmots do not seem to be entirely clear on marriage and courtship rituals outside the world of Disney.]
Sister: Sometimes it's hard to find someone to marry. Sometimes all the men you know are losers.
[Not that we're intentionally turning the marmots into little misandrists.]
Madame 3-yr-old: How old are you, Aunt?
MBC: Twenty-nine.
Madame 3-yr-old: Ohhh, that's old! That's very old.
Madame 5-yr-old: Well, it's not too old. It's not as old as Grandma and Grandpa.
Madame 3-yr-old: But you are old, Aunt.
Later, Madame 5-yr-old and I were discussing Life's Great Mysteries when she suddenly informed me that she loves her neighbor, Max. He's four. When he plays soccer (or does anything really), he springs along like a little gazelle. His parents are Austrian, so I imagine he's got the genetic makeup to be a little goat-herding boy in the Alps. Madame wants to marry him, but not until he's grown up. Since she's five, Madame figures that the year after she becomes a grown up, Max will be a grown up and they can get married. I'm thinking this is an improvement over Madame's previous plans to marry her father.
7 comments:
Tonight while closing I had a conversation that went like this:
One of our regular special female patrons: Your're cute.
Me: Thank You
OOORSFP: How old are you
Me: 26
OOORSFP: How tall are you?
Me: 4'9
OOORSFP: That's cute. Are you married?
Me: No
OOORSFP: Why not?
Me: Because I haven't yet found the right guy
OOORSFP: Well, I really hope you get married, your'e just so cute.
(Then she points at another patron and gives me a look like, "Hey how about that guy?")
Me: Well, have a good night
OORSFP: Your'e so cute
Me: See you later
and then she finally left. She called me cute at least 5 times and for a while there I wasn't sure if she was hitting on me.
AWKWARD!!
That is awkward. My favorite why-aren't-you-married experience was when the cashier in the Hostess thrift store asked me if I was married and when I said no, launched into a very long recounting of her own marriage (40 years earlier) and told me about 50 times that a cute little thing like me shouldn't worry about being a spinster (I wasn't worrying). She went on and on and on and used the word spinster about 5 billion times. Complete stranger. Full of advice.
Max's parents are Swiss--or rather German/Swiss and American/Swiss. Which still does not account for the spring in his step, truly a thing to behold. But not necessarily a sufficient reason to welcome someone as a future son-in-law. At least he likes penguins, as opposed to many other little boys of our girls' acquaintance who are big fans of Shrek and who like to go to Chuck E. Cheese or Monster Truck Rallies (even some proto-men are losers. There are advantages to having European parents.).
And may I just remark, in ann-marie's defense, that while "cute" is certainly an adjective that comes to mind, the far better ones are "smart," "polite," and "helpful." It was a lovely revelation when MBC put the pieces together for me to realize that the person at the university who was always extraordinarily helpful in my ILL needs was the same "cute" librarian at the public library!
Yes, even some women are losers! (or special)
Hmmm, why was I thinking Austrian? European parents should also ensure that he grows up to wear better shoes than his American peers.
Excuse me from commenting, I thought I would check this blog from moo's link. You do seem just fine with yourself being single. Embrace it. I do miss my freedom from time to time (usually entails having to account for all monies I have spent and what I did with my time, but that is what you sometimes have to give up in marriage).
Your nieces sound very cute. I was close with my oldest niece. When she was about 12, she informed me that she hoped I would never get married, because I would become boring. For some reason,she equates less time with friends and family as being boring. Now she is 16 and she does not really remember that I have become boring, because all she wants to do is spend time with her "significant other", i.e. boyfriend.
Enjoy your nieces while they are cute.
Hey, don't worry. Once you get married they ask you totally random questions like "Why don't you have children? Are you going to adopt?" with a not-so-subtle what's-wrong-with-you glance. Then once you do have children they start asking when your son/daughter is going to go on a mission/get married/have babies. So it never ends.
Beee-Thanks for the comment! When I was a little girl, I didn't want my sister to get married, because I wanted to be the center of her life. Then I grew up and she got married and it's all turned out just fine, because she has those cute kids.
Chou--So true. Tactless people are tactless no matter who they're addressing.
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