kids say the darndest things

One day Pokey, a beautiful, pleasant, and friendly dog sat on a step in my friends' garage, and I was petting him and talking to him. Their granddaughter A. joined me and hugged the dog and made kissing sounds above his black-and-white fur.

He gazed at us with sweet, appreciative, brown eyes. He tolerated or enjoyed our fussing. A. and I agreed we loved Pokey so much, and I said to her what a terrific dog he was, and on inspiration, I said, "We are Pokey's fan club!"

"Yes!" she agreed.
And I floated on -- "I'm the president of Pokey's fan club, & you're the vice-presi- or no, you're the president of Pokey's fan club, and I'm the vice president"...catching myself mid-sentence, thought, ("be generous, let the child be 'president'...!")

She was only 4 or 5, at the time. She looked at me calmly with serious, gentle eyes, and said, "You're the president of patting, and I'm the president of hugs and kisses."

!

She made us both presidents.

Sort of impressively complex thinking, for a child so young.
Even for some adults.

Power sharing.
Separation of powers.
She created a mini-democracy.
On the porch step.

Later when her father was making shish-ke-bobs (sp?) on a grill out on the driveway, I went & told him what she said. He said,
"She said that?"
I told him,
"Yes she did."

-30-