Kids still say the funniest things. I often wondered where they heard it or picked it up, right down to the appropriate mannerisms that little munchkins can imitate so well and then pick the right moments to say it.

My neighbour was telling me about the family stroll along the waterfront. They had ended with the walk along the concrete path that ended close to the point where the cruise ships passed as they made their grand entry into the harbour. One ship had just glided by, its passengers waving at the small group excitedly waving back in welcome. Mavis’s older grand-daughter mused aloud, “I wonder where the ship’s going next?” And her 6-year old sister, with a roll of her blue eyes, replied, “Well, duh, obviously out to sea.” and as she strolled away, the smiles broke out on everyone’s faces.

When a South American thrush flew onto Canadian soil a few days ago, all the avid bird-watchers wondered aloud what made the warm-weather bird venture into the cold, rainy, West Coast climate.  Five year old, Henry, brought the speculations to a halt, when he replied in a very adult voice, “Well, he must have bought a crap piece of GPS because a good one would have taken him to the right location.”

My friend’s grand-daughter, Anya, newly turned 8, had been taught at an early age not to answer the doorbell if it rang when no adult was home. Anya had a half-hour window, from the time she came home from school until one of her parents arrived home from work. A few days before, she had a birthday and received a pair of jeans from her Aunt Bee which had to be exchanged for something that wasn’t denim. Days later I met up with Bee and asked, “Hey, what happened with Anya’s birthday prez?”  Laughing, Bee said she had stopped by the house to give Anya her present but realized, after she had pushed the doorbell, that it was that half hour where doorbells were not answered.  However, Bee had caught the quick flash of her niece’s face at the window before quickly ducking out of sight. Bee rang the doorbell again. A voice from behind the door announced, “We are sorry we missed your call. Your visit is very important to us. Please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.” With a straight face, Bee replied, “I’m sorry I missed you too as I have a very important parcel to deliver. I guess it just goes back to the store.” At which point, Bee smiled as she recalled how quickly the door flew open.

Kids, no matter what their ages, are definitely little sponges who soak up all the stuff their parents wouldn’t want them to remember or repeat. And yes, once they learn any forbidden word, it is repeated with great glee and gusto. I still marvel at my then 9-months old god-daughter, Natasha Elena, sharing Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” movies while napping on my lap. Who knew that her actively growing brain was busy absorbing.  “Scumbag” was not exactly a desirable word to add to her early vocabulary, but I still insist she did say “Mama” first.