Eternity

I'm having a hard day. I called my sister to talk to her about it - vent, really - and then her daughter asked for a turn to talk to Auntie. I always love talking to little kids, even if I don't always understand what they say.

I asked my niece what she did in school.

"I don't know." she said.

"You don't know?" I asked.

"No."

Silence.

I tried a new conversation tactic. "What did you have for dinner?"

"Rolls, potato chips, corn, and milk," came the prompt reply. (That seemed to work a little better.)

She proceeded to tell me about her new mice and their sleeping habits: "They stay awake all night, running on their wheel, and in the morning we can take them out and play with them. And when we get home from school, they are sleeping. That is how they are nocturnal."

"Do you know any other animals that are nocturnal?" I queried.
"Yes. Bats." Slight hesitation - I can tell she is considering how to break the news to me that she is bored of talking to me.

"I have to go now."

"Thanks for talking to me. I love you." I said, even though am not a fan of how "I love you" means signaling the end of conversations. (It was actually a conversation with her that made me recognize this particular verbal cue...but I haven't been able to kick the trend yet.)

I expected her to just say, "I have to go now. Byebye!"

But instead, she said, "I love you more than these two things. Haha. That's a joke. I don't even like these two things!" Which is totally typical of six year old humor, and I inwardly groaned and prepared to hang up, slightly dissatisfied with the conversation ending.

She wasn't done, though - for then she piped up into the phone, "I love you more than eternity!"

Thanks, K. For loving me into eternity. That makes my day a little bit better.