Kids Are Smarter Than You Think

It’s after dark as I rush up porch stairs to our Somerville apartment.

Anya, our sitter, left early today due to a migraine, leaving the kids with Mary, my visiting mother-in-law. Every few months, Mary travels from Florida to address a swelling need to connect with her grandchildren. When Mary gets the itch, she starts dropping hints as if they were sacks of potatoes. “That’s my granddaughter and my grandson up there, ya know. And I really have to see them! Ya know, if you want, I can come up and …” After a handful of such calls we book her flights.

Today, I wonder if the pounding inside Anya’s head was trigged by Mary’s sing-song of motherly advice and small talk. Mary lives alone in Florida. When visiting she likes to chat...

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