Chatting at the pool

Most people my age go to the pool so their kids can work off some steam while they chat with the other moms on the pool steps. However, I like to go after 4 PM when I don't have to worry about sunblock, and Penny needs my constant attention. But this means I don't get to socialize too much.

But Penny is quite a magnet for small kids, especially 9-year-old girls.

A couple of them came up to me and started cooing about how "Penny is sooooo cute!" I had to agree, naturally. Their names were Alice and Hannah.

"We're best friends," Hannah informed me.

Alice, the taller one, told me that my sunglasses were "very beautiful."

I thanked her for saying so.

"Oh, I'm not just saying it," she replied, very emphatically. She got a dreamy look on her face. "You look very beautiful in them."

"Um, thank you," I told her again.

She looked over at Hannah. "Some people think we're not the same age. But we're both nine."

Sure enough, Alice was about a head taller than her friend.

"Well, some people grow at different.... um... speeds." I fumbled for a word she's be sure to understand.

"Rates," Alice corrected me.

"Uh-huh."

Then Hannah dived underwater and swam around for a bit.

Alice looked down at her, then turned to me with that same sincere, trusting look. "I think she has dwarfism."

Um, okay.

This was truly the strangest conversation I've ever had.

Just think how strange I would be if I didn't get to the pool to socialize. ;)

Said sunglasses