Kidding About/With Kids

When I go to relieve the receptionist for her afternoon break, here's a 9-yr-old hanging at the desk while his mom's in a meeting. He told me "You're amazing!" That made my day.

I fricking love gifted & talented kids, and this one was the quintessential poster child. Homeschooled, smart, creative: no wonder my mom took such pleasure in working with G&Ts. His opening gambit to me was "Do you know what the longest number in the world is?" "Gogolplex," I instantly replied. We then got into a Wikipedia discussion about huge numbers, seguing into long words. He has memorized the longest scientific word, which caused us to discuss what exactly constitutes a word (since that particular one is made up). He impressed me by knowing the longest Welsh word began with a double 'll,' and I impressed him by saying it, and he furthermore impressed me by being able to effortlessly make the distinctive breathy 'll,' nigh impossible for English speakers. He's half Czech, he explained, so I told him Na
zdraví until he replied in a lengthy barrage of Czech.

Onwards we went to Google Maps, where I showed him my favorite border so he could look it up on Google Earth when he got home: where Kazahkstan, China, Russia and Mongolia meet. (Try it on GoogleEarth; you won't be disappointed.) We had just enough time to look up where we lived and for me to read an email to him from my friend who's visiting Iceland (where medium-priced steaks are $75) before the break was over. He told me he couldn't believe how much I knew. Likewise.

A lot of people think I hate children, mostly because I go around saying that I'm scared newborns' heads will snap off if you don't properly support their necks, that I only want female chlidren, and that I don't want to have any dealings with kids aged 8--16, but the truth is I'm just full of crap. I actually like kids. Some kids. Gifted and talented kids. I'm just afraid I will end up with un-creative, average ones I would have nothing in common with is all. But interacting with a 9-yr-old boy proved to me that a.) I guess I'd have something in common with a male child, and b.) maybe kids are okay even if they're over age 7.

I would totally babysit this kid. High praise indeed.