A My Name Is...

My new favorite thing is taking evening walks with my daughter, Rainey (10).  We typically go out around 8pm which is that perfect time of the evening when it's dark outside but still early enough that no one has closed their curtains so you can peer into their windows and covet their wall of shelves or admire their moxie for painting "Pumpkin Orange" on their living room walls.  I'm sure people do the same to us.  Of course, once they get a gander at our wall of Mexican crosses and toddler finger painting motif, they probably wish we'd just go ahead and close those blinds at 7:15. 

Rainey and I have determined our favorite route and have agreed that every night we walk, we will pass the time by playing "A...My Name Is.."  If you are not familiar with this game, then you have clearly never taken a long car ride or you only had limited time with your girlfriends when you were 9-13 years old.  It's just "A, my name is Annie, I'm married to Alan, we live in Ann Arbor and we sell anteaters."  Then the next person has B.  And so on.  If you have or have access to a 10 year old kid, I highly recommend playing this game.  It's fun, funny and rather enlightening.  And frankly it's helping me brace for the fact that Rainey will be looking to marry anyone named Moose, Fantastico or Native (by the way Natalie and Native live on Native American land and are very happy selling noodles).

What I'm really enjoying is realizing how much Rainey actually knows.  It may sound ridiculous that I'm surprised she knows how to spell as well as she does (ie: knowing that Felicia and Francis can not sell their felines in Phoenix).  And she knows more cities and countries than I thought she did.  I have only just been made aware that Saline and Smitty now live in San Salvador (their snorkel business is booming).  And this kid is creative & funny.  I really look forward to meeting my grandkids...Anastasia, Minnie, Quality (personal fave) and Yellow.  And I really think she has an entrepreneurial spirit by wanting to sell antonyms, liquids and jack-o-lanterns (pre-carved with a price range of $5-$25 depending on size and intricacy of design).

It's good to have a little time traveling, meeting new people, and starting successful businesses all while peeking in at the neighbor's night time routines.  And always nice to end up back at our front door, high fiving my cool kid because we got all the way to Z (Zelda & Zak live in Zaire and sell zebras, by the way).