(Thank for concern due to my recent whining about stress. It's regarding the child I tend to call Challenge Child, and we're hanging in there)
Background info: My mom and sister are visiting. My sister is waaaay Ivy League and smart.
At lunch today she looked at my mother and said, "I didn't know you had read up on paleobotany."
My mother looked at her and blinked a couple of times, but said nothing. She knew what she meant, of course, but did not reply. I on the other hand, did the following:
a) tried desperately to remember what the heck we were discussing before she came out with THAT. (still haven't remembered, or I'd tell you) But it was not the sort of conversation you'd expect to find that whopper of a sentence in. I could have just said, "Ethan likes lettuce now" or "There's a lot of poo at my house" or anything dumb like that.
b) tried desperately to figure out the meaning of 'paleobotany.' gave up easily, since it sounded boring. yawn. (old plants...? ...huh? Is that even close...?)
c) wondered who else in the whole entire world works a word like that into casual conversation. (and why, since it stopped the conversational flow COLD)
d) tried desperately to come up with something smart to say. gave up and then tried to prevent Caden-2yr from dipping a chocolate chip cookie in salsa. Ew. Gave up on that too, and watched him eat salsa/cookie.
e) wondered when the last time I casually dropped a SIX SYLLABLE word into a conversation.
f) realized the answer was probably, um, NEVER, and whatever. I can effortlessly work the words poop, vomit, pee, and burp into any conversation too many times to count, so there!
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Your Comments
LOL, that Paleobotany thing just cracked me up. Like you said, think about all of the great things we, as parents, can casually drop into a mealtime conversation without blinking. Heck, before parenthood asking a child if they had to go potty in the middle of eating was stictly taboo...
Ahhhh - the days. I think I used to be smart. I remember days of sitting up all night at college and actually enjoying discussions about...see! I can't even remember what the discussions were about!
I blame it on three pregnancies, and years of sitting in a rocker nursing my babies. It's great for the bonding, not so good on the noggin.
I watched an entire episode of Barney and erased the three hour History channel biography on Lincoln. I try to at least fool my Tivo into thinking I'm smart.
Does your sister have kids? If she doesn't it would prove my theory about the leeching of brain cells during pregnancy. If she does - well, I'll just have to pretend I'm still right!
Hmmmm...thinking.....
ummmmmm...
Um-deedledeedledeedle um-deedleday
anyone know what multi-syllable word Holy Mamma may have used?
Um-deedledeedledeedle um-deedleday
I'm sure you've used it a time or two....
Um-deedledeedledeedle um-deedledeedle
Maybe even more! :)
Um-deedledeedledeedle um-um um-um um-um
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
See, even tho your sister is holy-shamoly--smart--she can't make us all smile like you do!
Diane
Hey! That last comment reminds me of a SONG! ;)
http://chaotichome.blogspot.com/2006/03/todays-cleaning-song_01.html
HolyMama! I'm SO SORRY! But I've passed along a virus to you. Check out my blog...
Well, I see someone already suggested euridite...
So I will offer my two favorite big words...
Untenable:
1. Being such that defense or maintenance is impossible: an untenable position.
2. Being such that occupation or habitation is impossible: untenable quarters.
and
Ebullient:
1. Zestfully enthusiastic.
2. Boiling or seeming to boil; bubbling.
I always get postive remarks from those two coversational volleys....
Paleo-whaaaaa?
Okay -- I'm starting to like this Patrick fellow. Yeah. I do. YOU GO, Patrick... kickin' up the Christian Vocab a notch... love it. You've redeemed yourself from the sugar free comments.
So basically, when dear sis throws in words with a gazillion syllables (oh MAN I can't spell) -- slam her with Christian-ese!!! Love, love, LUUUUUUUV it...
Go Patrick, it's your birthday, go Patrick ... go, go, go... ummm, errr ... sorry. Got carried away in the excitement.
I've got a interesting mix of characteristics in my husband. He's in graduate school and so he can toss around those multisyllabic words with the best of them. But our family also has this ongoing joke of how fast he can make a conversation deteriorate into "potty talk" over dinner. He never ceases to amaze me.
I googled it, here's what it said... The branch of paleontology that deals with plant fossils and ancient vegetation.
Wow, who knew?? She is way smart!!