conversations with my 4 year old daughter.

Mia had been pretending to turn 5 a few months after she had turned 3. Playing "party party" is great fun. Why FIVE, you ask? What happened to FOUR? Well, she made friends with a 4 year old at her kindergarten who turned 5 and left to go to "big school" - it was a major event in Mia's life. Ever since she's been wanting to go to "big school" and bossing Joshka around in a loud 3-year-old teacher kind of way. "When is my birthday?" is an often asked question. To give her a sense of how much time has to pass before it's her birthday I go through the list: first it's David's birthday, then Lynley's, then Tom's, then Jojo's, then Joshka's, then it's Easter, then Oupa, then Daddy's, then Asha's, then Ouma, then Susie, then then then Christmas, then Elise's birthday, then Mommy's birthday, THEN it's your birthday. "YAY!" is her usual response...not the despondent "Aaaaw..." I expect. In any case she's 4 now and I usually let her know just before it's anyone's birthday - it's usually the time she goes to draw them a card. Off she goes and draws for a bit, which leaves me free to do whatever it is that requires my attention at that very minute.

Today I told her it was nearly Jojo's birthday. And guess how old she will be? She will be 60.

An intake of breath...an incredulous look upon her face...a shy smile, and then her question: "Is that nearly a dead-year-old?".