Today is Madame the Elder's birthday. She is six. We had a family birthday dinner to celebrate. Tuey staked out a seat next to me at the table and then proceeded to be a very attentive little boyfriend to me, handing me pieces of fish to eat and salting my food for me (until I wrenched the shaker out of his sweet, slimy hand to prevent iodine poisoning).
Friday was Madame's birthday party with her friends. FIFTEEN of her friends. My sister is a crazy person to invite so many young children to her home. I wanted to give them little prison uniforms and put them to work after the manner of the orphans in the movie Annie, but instead Madame had them play Pin the Hooves on the Horse and a guessing game similar to 20 Questions that we play with the marmots sometimes, but which went like this with the neighbor kids:
Sister: Okay, Madame is thinking of something, so ask her questions to figure out what she's thinking of. Ask her if it's big or small or hot or cold. Anything.
Neighbor Kid #1: Is it hot or cold?
Madame: Neither.
Neighbor Kid #2: Is it hot?
Madame: No.
Neighbor Kid #3: Is it cold?
Madame: No.
Sister: Ask her a different question. Ask her if it's big or small.
Neighbor Kid #4: Is it big or small?
Madame: It can be big OR small.
Neighbor Kid #5: Is it hot?
There was a festive pinata fashioned by Madame. Only one child got smacked in the face with the broom being used to smash the pinata. Not bad considering the odds when arming 15 six-year-olds with a blunt instrument and instructing them to swing it about in a confined space.
And we made pancakes and ate cupcakes and opened presents and watched the clock and did a little jig when all the children left.
When I turned six, I had a slumber party. I don't know what my mother was thinking to allow such a thing. After only two hours with Madame's guests, I was ready to sell them to the mines.
5 comments:
THANKS for MULTIPLE laughs -- hope the neighbors didn't hear me.
The computer that I check RSS on has been Internet-less for 2 weeks + my semester got really crazy with grading student papers. So, I've been catching up on lots of old blog posts you've written.
I just want you to know that I love your blog SOOO much. Reading all the posts at once is like having MBC-is-just-so-awesome-overload. I really appreciate your smarminess and your wit. And FYI, I can feel your grammar pain now that I've read all my student papers. :P
What was Madame thinking of?
HAH--Glad you enjoyed it.
Alyssa--Thanks! You made my day.
Cynthia--The mind of a marmot is unknowable.
If they had been wearing prison uniforms you could have sold them to a chain gang.
Is it a sign or what, the word for verification today in order to post: orphan.
"The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun."
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