I gave Nicole a job that she took to heart. I asked her to go through a “Childcraft” toy catalogue (that she’s been thumbing through for the past few days since getting in the mail) and list her 10 favorite toys with page numbers. I don’t know if this is in order of importance:
1. Personalized Rolling name stamp Unicorn Name stamp
With Red ink. p. 28
2. Ballerina Doll p. 33
3. Walking Annette p. 32
4. Sunrise Horse Set p. 37
5. Magic Math Machines p. 39
6. The Babysitters Club p. 41
7. Treasure Chest of Stickers p. 54
8. Face case p.55
9. Dinocheckers p. 37
10. Minigolf course p.26
Hmmm…. all seems straight forward except number 8. So, turn to page 55. Looks like a purse and a wallet. Description reads:
Face Case. Packed with silly ears, zany eyes, outrageous noses and more (Woops… looked at the wrong picture. The purse and wallet are Minnie Mouse Accessories. Face Case looks like a box of rubber stamps.), this clever stamp set creates the world’s funniest creatures. Includes 46 stamps with wild and wacky features, an ink pad and a plastic storage case. Children will spend hours creating a vast array of characters to star in their own pictures, stories and cartoons. 5-14 yrs. $12.95
And if you have a three-year-old, it should add, much of that vast array will appear on your newly painted walls.
Nicole likes funny things and funny people. She told me about one boy in her class, Juaqeen (say wau KEEN), who can crack her up by just holding a pen up close to her face. She couldn’t explain why that makes her laugh, but Nicole often doubles over laughing at things I can’t always see or hear.
She then admitted that she was not one of the funny people in her class. “I’m not funny,” she said matter-of-factly. I was surprised to hear her say that. So I asked her if she was sure she wasn’t funny.
“No, I’m just not.”
“Why do you think you’re not funny?” I asked her.
“Nobody laughs at my jokes.”
“Tell me a joke,” I said.
“OK, why did the dog cross the road?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“To get to the other side… That’s the only joke I know, and when I tell it, nobody laughs.”
I didn’t laugh, either. I was pretty sure that it was a chicken that crossed the road for that reason, which wasn’t very funny to start with.
“Do you ever make Miss Linsey laugh?” I asked her.
“No,” Nicole said.
“Do you ever make her smile?”
“Yes,” Nicole nodded with a grin.
I think you’re pretty funny, Nicole.