HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISS MANNERS

Last Friday I met Gilmore Girl and her two chicklets, Curly Sue and Tuesday at Heaps. I'm a Heaps customer extraordinaire, I should own stock. I should get a yearly bonus. I should at least be on the menu decision committee.

We were there because Tuesday is turning three--this very day she's turning three.

Happy Birthday, Tuesday.

Heaps sends a certificate to children on their birthday, giving them a free pizza and an ice cream sundae along with their must-always-have-one suckers. (See yesterday's post.)

They ate the suckers after dinner. I don't want you to think Gilmore Girl is an irresponsible parent.

Curly Sue, being her charming self with a brand new haircut.
Tuesday, being her charming self, never waiting until ALL the flashes go off before looking away.

While we ate Gilmore Girl and I were talking about Achievement Days--she is one of the Achievement Days leaders in her ward. Achievement Days is for girls, age eight through eleven. They meet twice a month and have lessons and activities.

"My Achievement Days girls need a lesson on manners, I think," Gilmore Girl said.

Curly Sue is in Gilmore Girl's Achievement Days group. She looked very innocent. Her little sister, on the other hand....

Drank her root beer with her finger in her mouth....

Then she messed with her mother's lemon and ice water.... And didn't hold still for the photo, either--or perhaps it was the person behind the camera.

At one point of the evening she blew a raspberry....

And then said, "It was an accident," but it sounded more like "Ith wath an athident." And then she pulled a face at her sister.

She ate her sundae in a very unorthodox way....

A sticky unorthodox way.

She held her head, in consternation at all the rude behavior. Gilmore Girl held her head too, and said, "She isn't old enough to go to Achievement Days but she definitely needs it."

Tuesday actually had more un-mannerized behavior but I have blocked it out of my mind. I called Gilmore Girl to see if she remembered and she has blocked the rude behaviour out of her mind, too.

Who me? Innocent me? Who's having a birthday this very day? How could you ever think of me as rude?

And so it goes. Children, charming their parents and grandparents so we forget about the questionable behavior.

Or perhaps we don't. Perhaps we forgive.