Recently, Valerie Rains (my granddaughter) started reading Nancy Drew books. One afternoon I came into the kitchen and she was fully engrossed.

“Nancy Drew?” I said. “I loved those books.”

“Really?”, she asked and kept reading.

Then she stopped.

“Nana,” she said. “You should write mysteries.”

“What?”

“Sure,” she said. “Picture it: ‘Nana Drew-Still solving crime; just a little slower.”

It was funny, even though I was the joke. And funny was just what I needed.

It’s humbling and sometimes embarrassing the way she gets me.
Kids are funny like that.

And because we all need funny, here are some laughs from other kids I know:

 

Older, not smarter

My niece’s three-year-old twins found the baby monitor she left in their room.

They brought it to her shouting and demanded to know what it was.

Not ready to give up her secret, she said the first thing that popped into her mind:

“It’s the poison box that keeps monsters and roaches out of your room.”

They stared at her in disbelief, so she quickly added:
“Have you ever SEEN monsters or roaches in your room?”

They looked at each other and shook their heads “no”, then took the monitor back to their room.

 

Compliments are for special occasions

A friend of mine had just celebrated a birthday when her four-year-old granddaughter popped the question:

“How old are you, Nanna?”

I told her and showed her how many fingers that is.

“Well, you don’t look that old,” she said. ‘You don’t look any older than you did yesterday.”

Then she turned around and looked at her Poppy and said:

“But YOU do!”

 

Sometimes the truth hurts

My aunt was playing cards with her grandkids when her granddaughter became upset:

“Mee-Ma, he’s cheating.”

“No, he’s not.,” I said,” He’s only two. He doesn’t know how to cheat.”

“Yes he does,” she said, “I taught him.”

 

They are always thinking

My cousin shared this window into young siblings:

“Mom, I love my baby brother.”

“I’m so glad. I love him too.”

“Yeah…I didn’t know he would come with legs AND hands.”

The older they get, the more entertaining they become. Valerie Rains is going through a word pun phase. Sometimes she tries so hard to force words in, her joke fails. We tell her that if you must explain the punch line, it’s not a joke.

The last time I reminded her of that, she told this one:
VR: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Me: (sigh) Why?

VR: To get to the village idiot’s house.

(sigh)

VR: “Knock-knock.”

(I knew I shouldn’t ask.)

Me: Who’s there?

VR: “The chicken.”

Share one if  you’ve got one!