I’ve been having a rough day and clients are not very nice to me (impatience, system failure, normal customer service work). I get a new call.

Client: “I’ve sent in an application to create an extra room in my home, and I was wondering what the status is.”

Me: “Well, I see it has been approved, but the letter has not been mailed out yet.”

Client: “Oh, hold on, hold on. I need to put you on speaker so my daughter can hear it; it concerns her, too.”

I have no idea how old that daughter is.

Me: “Well, there’s permission to create an extra room in your house.”

Daughter: “YES!”

The daughter, who sounds very young, starts celebrating in the back.

Client: “Thank you so much.”

Me: “No problem; have a nice day!”

Client: *Thinking she has already hung up* “Wow, that lady was really nice, wasn’t she?”

I needed that, lady. I really needed that. Onward to the next call!

I work in a library, and we have a coffee machine in our lobby where visitors can get coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. The hot chocolate is very popular with kids. 

I spot a little boy running up to his dad, waving a paper mug from the machine. 

Boy: “Dad, can I have hot chocolate?”

Dad: “Not today, buddy.”

Boy: “Daaad, pleeeease!”

Dad: “No, we don’t have time today; we can get it next time. Now put that mug back where you found it.”

Boy: “But I already licked it!”

My five-year-old sister is obsessed with Rapunzel (the Disney version from “Tangled”) right now. She wants to be Rapunzel when she grows up, so she refuses all haircuts and every so often sings to her hair.

My mother bought her a Rapunzel costume for a costume parade we had, and my sister was so excited about it. On the day of the parade, she told me this:

Sister: “You know what’s sad?”

Me: “What?”

Sister: “Mama said I have to wear socks and shoes. But Rapunzel has bare feet!”

She also got very disappointed when the long blonde braid didn’t glow with the magic song.

Today, we were singing the song “When Will My Life Begin” and we sang the line “…stuck in the same place I’ve always been.”

Sister: “But she wasn’t always there.”

Me: “That’s true, but she didn’t know that. She thought Mother Gothel was her real mother. She never learned about genetics, so she couldn’t tell it didn’t make sense.”

Sister: “What’s genetics?”

Me: “Well, a mother and father both give something to the baby. So, since Mama and Daddy both have brown hair, you can’t have blonde hair.”

Sister: “But Rapunzel had blonde hair.”

Me: “Well, yes, so maybe if Mama drank a magic flower when she was pregnant with you, you’d have magic hair. But she didn’t.”

Sister: *Very matter of fact* “I know. Sadly.”

At least she’s come to terms with the ending of the movie, though. When she first saw it, she cried when Rapunzel’s hair got cut and barely noticed that Flynn was dying. And through her tears, she asked me this:

Sister: “Is she crying for the same reason I am?”

I had to get a lot of dental work done, and I was leaving the dental office, very glad that my homemade cloth mask both hid the fact that my mouth was bleeding and protected my sensitive teeth from the cold winter air.

As I stomped grumpily down the sidewalk, I heard a very excited little voice start yelling:

Little Girl: “Look, Mommy, she’s a cowgirl! Look at the cowgirl!”

There was a little girl wearing bright pink fluffy boots, jumping up and down, and yanking on her mom for attention.

Girl’s Mom: “Wow, a real cowgirl!”

I had forgotten that I was wearing my favorite pair of boots, complete with pointy toes and cool designs!

I couldn’t actually talk to the little girl, but she made my week, and even years later, I still consider it one of the best compliments I ever got!

I was sitting with my child at the pediatric dentist and overheard the most delightful conversation from a little boy sitting near us.

Dental Hygienist: “All right, champ! Can you tell me when your birthday is?”

They ask every child this to ensure they have the right chart pulled up at the right station.

Kid: *Looks hesitantly at his father* “I think I know it?”

Father: “Go ahead!”

Kid: “Well, I’m pretty sure my birthday is on January 12th, but I can’t remember whether I was born in 2015 or 2050. I think it’s one of those, though…”