Jokes and Coffee

After a successful venture to REI for a new sleeping bag and thermarest pad so that we may be properly equipped for a summer of camping in Southeast Alaska, La Chica and I decided to take a coffee break before meeting a friend downtown for lunch. We waited in line, oohed and ahead over the treats in the pastry display, ordered my coffee and an extra short cup for her.

While we waited for my Americano, La Chica chose some seats at the counter that were agreeable and I prepared her 'la-la-latte!' (half soy milk, half ice water). She chatted up the people at the counter, asked questions about the jugs of chai tea, marveled at the ice machine, and the barista with the multi-colored dreadlocks.

After she had finished her drink, cleaned up her drips, and tossed her cup and napkins in the trash we were headed for the door when she starts her faux giggle, the two year old kind when they are forcing a laugh for comedic effect.

"I joke you, Mommy!" she declares.

"What's so funny?" I inquire.

More laughter, two steps forward, and a full body wiggle reveals that somehow, without removing her jacket or fiddling with anything in any noticeable way, the ever modest creature that is my two year old daughter has managed to unhook both of her Oshkosh overall straps and is now standing in the middle of the coffee bar with her pants around her ankles laughing hysterically along with every person who is seated in a twenty foot radius.

Upon being re-dressed, amidst her doubled over laughter and chorus of "I joke you, Mommy! I JOKE YOU!!!" La Chica made her way for the door, suddenly over the hilarity, to announce that it was, 'Bookstore time!'.

Never a dull moment when you share the days in your life with a toddler.

And now, just to make things more interesting, there are JOKES!

Knock, knock...