Flat Out Confused

I recently moved into a fairly large apartment in a downtown area. My sister comes to visit with my two young nieces, who have spent their entire lives in suburbia, surrounded by large houses.

As I give them a tour, they have a lot of questions.

Niece #1: “Where are the stairs?”

Me: “There aren’t any.”

Niece #2: “How do you get upstairs?”

Me: “There is no upstairs.”

Niece #2: “Oh.”

A little later…

Niece #1: “Where’s your backyard?”

Me: “I don’t have one.”

Niece #1: “Where do you play outside?”

Me: “There’s a park a few blocks away.”

The girls exchange a confused look. A few minutes later, after inspecting every room in the apartment…

Niece #1: “Uncle… are you poor?”

Me: “No, sweetheart.”

Niece #1: “Then where’s the rest of your house?”

We adults all burst out laughing.

Sister: “One day I’ll be able to explain to them that the rent for this apartment is about twice the mortgage payment on our house.”

Me: “Hopefully one day someone will be able to explain it in a way that makes sense to me!”