So, the other day I’m driving with the girl in the car. She starts counting in Spanish.
Lauren: I can count to six in Spanish. (and she proceeds to count)
Me: I think I can count into the teens. But I used to be able to count to 100.
Lauren: Why can’t you anymore?
Me: Well, I took Spanish a long time ago, in High School.
[thoughtful pause]
Lauren: Oh, yeah. And they didn’t have paper back then. Weren’t those wood boards you had to write on very heavy to carry around?
If she wasn’t being completely serious and not sarcastic it might make me mad. But she’s heard the horror stories of my childhood — no videogames or cable or cellphones. Socks for Christmas. No extravagant birthday parties. I’m sure in her eyes, I did grow up "Little House on the Prairie"-style