Conversations with Adelle

On Ivan's appearance:

Adelle: Ivan has a short neck.

Me: Yes, I suppose it appears that way considering his chin AND cheeks rest comfortably on his chest.


On her intelligence:

Me: Adelle, how did you get so smart?

Adelle: I have a box in my head and it's full of smart."


On personal hygiene:

Adelle: Can I touch the pizza dough? My hands are clean!

Me: No they're not.

Adelle: Yes they are! You gotta believe me!

Me: When is the last time you washed your hands?

Adelle: Last night.

Me: Adelle, your hands are not clean.


On noticing ethnicity:

Adelle: I remember at my old school (in L.A.) that some of my friends had flat noses like this. (and she squishes her nose making it wide and flat)

Me: Oh yeah? And what color was their skin?

Adelle: I dunno.

Me: Did they have the same skin as you?

Adelle: Yes, but only on the bottom of their hands. Everywhere else it was dark brown.

Me: Uh-huh.

Adelle: Why are their noses flat like this? (squishing her nose again)

Me: Well, they're African. Or, sometimes we call them "black" even though they're not black but they're dark brown. And we're called "white" even though we're...

Adelle: (interrupting) But we're not white! That's wrong. We're light brown.

Me: I know, it's confusing.


Now, sometimes when she's learning about adult concepts I like to probe her for more information and see what else she may have observed...


Me: Does your friend Larry look different than you? (he's Chinese)

Adelle: No, he looks the same as me.

Me: What about his skin? Is it the same as yours?

Adelle: Yes, it's the same as Daddy's. (it's pretty much the same as his)

Me: What about his face? Does his face look different?

Adelle: No, he looks the same as me.


Sometimes Adelle has questions about life that I'm not sure how to answer. So, I just have to wing it!