Packing.

There doesn’t seem to be any escape from it. It was on the agenda from the first moment my eyes opened this morning until just a few minutes ago, when my feet screamed in protest.

Well…except for the time we went out for lunch. And the time we went out for dinner. Oh, and the time we went out for ice cream. Because packing makes you really hungry.

My husband’s youngest daughter has been here this weekend, so despite her pleas to be spared, we put her to work packing a few things today, too. Of course, there’s always a trade off. And the trade off this time was the constant stream of fun facts Mady shared with us while we stuffed boxes.

Mady’s favorite phrase is, “Hey, did you know…?”

“Hey, did you know a Hippo’s sweat is red?”

“Yes, I knew that,” I said.

“You did not!”

“Yes I did. Because, yeah…I am smarter than a fifth grader.” Or in Mady’s case, an eighth grader.

“Hey, did you know the human head weighs eight pounds?”

Has this kid ever heard of Jerry Maguire?

“Yes, I did.”

“You did not!”

“Yes, I did. I was in school for more a lot longer than you have been.” I rolled my eyes even though I wouldn’t have known that fact without the movies. But I wasn’t saying anything if she didn’t know that.

She went back to folding the curtains I asked her to pack…with less precision than my OCD would have liked, but my husband gave me that look when I considered showing her how to fold them…again.

Then she started in with the trivia again.

“Hey, did you know bananas are the reproductive organ for the whole tree?”

I sat quietly, because I wasn’t sure if this was a trick question. Do you have any idea how many jokes I could come up with using the words banana and reproduction?

At least a dozen!

“So are apples, pears, plumbs and peaches…all seed bearing fruits,” my husband interrupted, and I exhaled, relieved to have my thoughts stopped before they had a chance to get out.

“Bananas have seeds…you just don’t notice them,” I added. “And it’s the birds and the bees that spread the seeds around.” I was trying to be clever…but it was lost on them. They were too busy delving into the in-depth study of fruit and reproduction.

My eyes glazed over while I packed…still stuck with that original image of a banana in my head.

“Hey Daddy…how do you know all this stuff?” Mady asked Mike. “No matter what topic we talk about, you just seem to know everything about it. It’s like you have the book in your head or something.”

“Well, I’m much older than you,” my husband explained. “And don’t forget, I’m studying enviromental sciences.”

Not to be out done, I tossed in, “Hey, I know stuff too. Just ask me anything about Bewitched!”

Yeah…they didn’t care. In fact, I don’t think Mady’s ever heard of Bewitched. And if you ask me, that’s just sad.

Until the next time…I’ll be resting up for one more day of packing.