Momnesia

I Think I Need to Watch My Smart Mouth

AUGUSTA, GA - I forget, sometimes, that experts say that kids don't really grasp sarcasm until around the age of 8. I forget this because in the McGowen family, sarcasm isn't some benign humorous technique.

It's a survival skill.

"Hey, it's your world," I often joke, when she tries to tell me how things are. "We just live in it."

We're at Six Flags Over Georgia this morning, riding the parking trolley until my sisters and nephews join us, and Emmie proceeds to explain to me that she has no intention of riding the Batman roller coaster that just flew past us at breakneck speeds.

"That's fine, Emmie. You don't have to ride anything you don't like."

"No. I serious. I not goeend to ride dat ride. I'm skeered."

"Okay, Emmie. I won't make you ride anything that scares you. But you should know that every ride is safe, here. Nothing will hurt you. And part of the fun is being scared."

"Mama," she says, with a mature intensity, clutching my face in her hands. "Iss my world. I telleend you: I not goeend ride it."

Okay, then.


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