Meet Anna Pepper, a Force to be Reckoned With. Although she was only two in this photo and she is now four, she remains fairly undomesticated. This photo captures something of her passion and zeal. Anna has never heard of the word apathy, and life with her has caused us to explore a wide range of emotions that we never before knew existed.Now that she is four, she has learned to moderate many of her most intense emotions. Unfortunately, she has also managed to hone her combate skills, so when she and I lock heads, things can turn pretty ugly.
On Sunday night, she mentioned that something was "gooder." In an attempt not arouse the tempest, I calmly said, "Actually, the word is 'better.'" She glared at me with contempt. "Actually, Mama, the word is gooder. I know it is," she said.
I attempted to appeal to an outside authority. "Anna, how about tomorrow we ask Mr. Jeff?" Anna shook her head. "No Mama. The word is Gooder and I want you to apologize. One, two. ."
I glared back at her. I was nearly tempted to capitulate. I mean, how long could such an inane debate continue? But as a woman of words I felt that something critical was at stake, and I decided to hold my ground, come Hell or high water.
I opted for the snotty approach. "Okay Anna. Let me explain something. Kids, who don't yet know how to read or write might think the word is gooder, but these kids are sorely mistaken. Adults, like myself, who know how to do both, know that the word is better."
"The word, Mama, is gooder," she said, arms across her chest, cayenne pepper in her eyes.
2 comments:
I thought I was gooder at correctly pronouncing herb names than my dad, and once, at nine, had a big showdown with him about "cilantra"--which he insisted on calling "cilantro."
I myself once foolishly argued that huger was not a word. I do also recall Lucy stubbornly mispronouncing Clackamas as Clockamus until she was twelve. Although I suppose those native american names can be tricky.
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