Quotes to Remember...or Not.

There is something so sweet about remembering what our children said so long ago and how they would be perceived now if they came up with the same quotes.
For example, my daughter Julia, a very funny child, full of one-liners herself...and even today she comes out with things that I cannot believe what I am hearing, except that I have known her for nearly 22 years ~ so it should not be any surprise to me.
The other day she was talking with her cousin Amy, who is about a year younger than she is and who has been a lifelong friend to her and our daughter Clare.
As Amy was turning to leave, Julia said to her, "You smell like childhood."
What?!
A compliment, that...and hopefully Amy took it as one. I would have to say that I would, remembering back to all the times they shared way back then and right up til today.
Another time, dear daughter Julia was heard to remark to a stranger on the phone, "My Mommy's not here right now, can I take a shower?"
Again, huh?!
Truth be told, lest anyone think that I had left my children alone in the house, Julia was being watched by her older sisters and had gotten to the phone before they had a chance to respond to the ring. I was in the shower, honest! But I think she was so excited to get to the phone before anyone else, she just blurted out her own version of the prescribed message before she had a chance to actually think first what she was saying!
My daughter Mary, on the other hand, has always been the one in total control ~ of her well-chosen words (in her own mind, at least), her opinions and her sense of self. If one asked her what was the difference in pronouncing a word "pot-A-toe" or "pot-AH-toe" she would tell the person in no uncertain terms the correct method. As a matter of fact, to illustrate her self-assured manner, both in vocal skills and in nearly everything else, a favorite quote (Mary style) is "Well, the tom-AH-toe people are wrong!"
Ok, according to whom, eh? Again, God love her, that's Mary...since she was a youngster, being 27 now, she has been one who knew what she wanted, always had a plan, and went after ~ and accomplished ~ everything she set out to do.
And then, there's our Clare, with always a hearty laugh for anything that tickles her fancy...and her funny bone. Once, when I had come in to the house after an afternoon in the hot sun and up to my knees in dirt in the backyard gardens, she pronounced, "Mom, anyone can tell just by looking at you that you have just spent the afternoon playing with the Faeries!"
Very true...she remembered, I am happy to see! The happiest part of any day in the garden is always spent with the Faeries' help, I like to say.
Or about the other day, as she was sitting talking with her father and me, something came up in the conversation where she was apt to respond, "Well, I never knew that, until I found out!"
OK...come again?!?
So glad that you know it now...
Anyway, as it goes, I sometimes wish I had been carrying around a tape recorder all these years, just so I could record and remember everything my children came up (and out) with! Thankfully, many things stand out in my memory and I have to smile every time one of them pops into my head.
I'm sure any Mom reading this can relate to that, but even more, just waiting until they are older, and the family jokes and quotes take on a whole new sweetness ~ and comic relief...