Day 77

7/29/22

Once again, I had the joy of walking with Lilly, Ranger AND Asher! Beautiful day...beautiful company!

As any doting grandmother is prone to do, I marvel at my grandson's understanding of the world around him. He will ask questions which lead to long discussions and, often, a bit of research when we return home.

I like to think my education (countless years and a PhD) allows me to be prepared for most questions that arise. Not today! Asher walks Lilly and I lead Ranger as we wander the path by the river and in our discussions.

As we headed west, a semi-truck came up the street after delivering food to the senior residence. Asher literally dropped Lilly's leash as it approached and, as I scrambled to get both dogs under my watchful eye, the little guy waved and indicated that the driver might honk his horn. When he only waved, the crestfallen child looked at me and sadly asked why he had failed to honk. Thinking fast, I told him that people might be sleeping in the townhomes and he didn't want to wake them up. I added that, because of their jobs, some people are nocturnal, just like some animals.

"Hey, Nanny! What makes animals nocturnal? I know they are awake at night, but why don't they just sleep like the rest of us and stay awake during the day? They don't have jobs."

OK...here is my opportunity to share the huge secret that adults don't know everything! We chatted about their ability to see in the dark and that other animals are out as well. We went down the "rabbit" hole of predator/prey for about 15 seconds before I changed the direction of the conversation. I assured him that we would look it up once we got home!

Down by the river, we watched the Rum flow by and, once again, he stumped me.

"Hey, Nanny! Why does the water look blue, but when you get close, it's brown?"

Well, I thought I had that one! Discussing the reflection of the sky on the water, I smiled and nodded smugly.

"But, Hey Nanny, when I get close does the reflection go away?"

Oh well, that's what Google and Alexa are for. If I only had that old set of encyclopedias, I bet we could have looked it up! Somehow, I would have found that to be more rewarding!