Strange mind work

This is my middle child, at Parent Observation Day in one of her dance classes. My mind doesn't work in the same way hers and she is a constant source of amazement - and amusement - to me.

The other day at lunch I mentioned that the next day was Leader Appreciation Day at Girl Scouts. The parents had not organized the kids for a group effort, so individual appreciation was in order. My girl really loves her leaders Lori and Tina, and got very excited about making something to honor and thank them. Girl Scouts is one of the highlights of her week, we drive a long way to get there, get out of the house - and out of bed - earlier than we'd like, but have never regretted our decision to join this homeschool troop.

A while later, as I was preparing fish for the dehydrator and trying to herd the kids into completing their minimum requirements for the day, she was camped at the kitchen craft table, intently working on her appreciation gifts. Trying not to be annoyed that the all important math was being overlooked, I asked to see what she was making.

For Lori she produced a not-to-scale model of the solar system out of Sculpey clay. The sun was yellow, the earth blue and green, the rest fabulous, teeny and highly breakable in the Sculpey clay tradition. For Tina she had produced an evolutionary time line - at least the primate portion. Ape, Neanderthal, modern day human. Beautiful

Again, she left me speechless. Chuckling, of course, was not appropriate. Instead, I complimented her work, turned on the oven to 275 for the clay and called Mark. He, at least, could laugh in wonder at the other end of the phone as I told him of her creations.

I also passed on an observation that dehydrating fish stinks up the whole house.