Marking growth not by inches, but by joke telling

Molly is getting older. I will admit that she amazes us. Perhaps we are just easily amazed though. In all fairness, since our first two children were a little behind (or sometimes a lot) developmentally, we tend to think of Molly with this Einstein kind of aura. LOL Okay, so we know she’s not going to be Einstein, but the boys didn’t count at all when they were her age, and she’ll just sit around and count to 11 or 12, and I am in awe.

I know she is getting older for many reasons. One would be the obvious passing of days. Another, is the length of her hair — man…it’s getting long! (Although she will still not allow bows or bands in her hair. Augh!) And, still another way I know she’s getting older is that her speech is growing more clear and she has just changed (usually) from calling my Mom “jammie” to calling her “grandma.”

As if I needed any more proof, joke telling has become another marker of the passing time. With brothers who are five and seven, she is bound to hear knock knock jokes. At first, she would listen with interest, and laugh when we laughed. And then, she grew…and she started saying, “knock knock” as she would extend one arm and slap it with the other hand in a “knocking” motion. If you said, “Who’s there?” she would say, “Knock Knock!” And, again it would continue.

And, then she grew some more…

Molly: Knock Knock!

Me: Who’s there?

Molly: Dora Who?

Me: Dora Who Who?

Molly: Knock Knock

If you tried to tell her a knock knock joke, she would turn it around into her own joke. She thought each joke was very funny, and it is usually accompanied by a tiny hand cupping her mouth as she giggled away.

And, here we are. Just a day or two ago, I said to her, “Knock knock.”

Molly: Who’s there, Mommy?

I was shocked! Not only did she not follow it up with her own knock knock, she even threw in that “mommy” with it.

Me: Olive.

Molly: Olive who, Mommy?

Oh my goodness — she was actually participating in this joke! I couldn’t believe my little girl was getting bigger.

Me: Olive you! (get it? I love you!)

And, then, her little hand cupped her mouth to contain her laughter. What an angel!

She followed this up with a knock knock for me that left me asking, “Dannen who?” She laughed and laughed.

Perhaps she still needs some time to grow on this whole joke thing. But, I suspect it will all come sooner than I think it might. And, then it will be my turn to cup my hand over my mouth to hold in the laughter.