AJ�s friend Ben Franklin boy paid us a visit yesterday. He is in the other afternoon kindergarten class at AJ�s school. During his visit he was fascinated with the amount of reading material in our house.

BFB: Do you read the newspaper?

Husband: We do.

BFB: Which newspaper?

Husband: Well, we usually read the New York Times. And sometimes we read the Sun-Times or the Tribune.

BFB: My dad reads the Tribune every day.

Husband: That�s a very good paper. Do you read the paper?

BFB: No. I can�t read. But my mom reads the paper on Mother�s Day.

Mostly, though, the boys spent the morning playing baseball in the yard and counting the pretend money in AJ�s cash register. They showed up at the kitchen counter with wads of pretend cash.

BFB: Can we buy some drinks?

AJ: Yeah. We want some drinks. We have 152 dollars.

Harriet: Well, you�re in luck. Two glasses of milk cost exactly 152 pretend dollars.

AJ: How much does orange juice cost?

-----

Currently The Girl Next Door is here playing with AJ. They are discussing the beating of hearts.

TGND: Did you know that when your heart�s not beeping you�re alive and when your heart�s beeping really, really, really fast you�re dead?

AJ: Well, actually, when your heart stops beating you�re dead but when it�s beating fast, you�re alive. You need your heart to move your blood around.

TGND: No. My brother said�

AJ: Don�t you remember in gym class? He said when your heart�s beating fast it�s good. [They�ve been jogging and learning how to check their pulses. In kindergarten. What happened to dodge ball?]

TGND: But when your heart�s beating really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY fast, then you�ll die.

AJ: Let�s go get your brother.

TGND: No, I don�t want to. I want to play circus.

And who doesn�t want to play circus? TGND is becoming the master of the distracting comment, a trait that for some reason we used to refer to as the �look at the choo-choo� technique, as in the midst of the crisis, you might point to a train for entertainment and hope that the crisis is forgotten. [M., if you�re reading this, I have some vague association that this particular label is associated with you somehow, but it is lost in the fogs of my historical memory. Do you have any recollection of this? Or am I just thinking that because of the train reference?]

The reason for TGND�s attempts at distraction is usually that she would prefer not to bring her brother into her games. I think she likes some time away from her brother and also to have AJ to herself. AJ and TGND�s brother, despite the four year difference in their ages, have a lot of common interests and I think TGND sometimes feels a little left out when they are a trio. Still, I love watching them all play together. Lately they�ve been taking AJ�s Whack-a-mole game out under the mulberry tree on the other side of the lawn in the afternoon sun. They are the picture of all that I want to remember about childhood.

The leaves are falling from the trees at alarming rates. In a week or two, there will be enough for a pile to jump in. AJ and I went to the farmer�s market this morning and came home with armloads of apples and also a keychain version of the Magic 8 Ball, which AJ has been consulting for all decisions, great or small.

When TGND came over, the first thing AJ did was show her the Magic 8 Ball. The first thing TGND did was to ask it a question, �Will AJ marry me?� Girls! �It�s a secret,� replied the Magic 8 Ball.

2 people said it like they meant it