Apples and Trees

7 years ago, we attended a family reunion. Most of Andy's Mom's family gathered at a ski lodge in Vermont over the Fourth of July. Some came early. Some came late. But I think everyone's stay overlapped. It was fun. We generally only see these people at weddings and funerals so it was nice that there was no real pressure for anyone once we all arrived.

Andy is one of 14 cousins on that branch of the family. It was a long time ago, but many of those cousins had their own families. I would guess that there were about 20 children in attendance, the oldest being no more than 10. (In case you are wondering, my last count has the little ones at 29 but my information isn't always current!) Anyway, with that many people, you are bound to find someone with whom you get along.

Drew encountered a cousin (for lack of a better term) with whom he could see eye to eye. The boys were playing baseball with the dad of said cousin. It was really more like catch. The adult reminded them that they needed to hold their hands out so that the ball wouldn't hit them in the tummy. One of the boys corrected him, "It's not a tummy, it's a stomach." I think it was mine, but I can't remember for sure. The ensuing conversation led me to believe that this was a typical comment from either 4 year old.

I was reminded of this episode the other day by Tim.

I was trying to convince Tim that story time was a fun and worthy excursion. He's been to story time tons of times but not consistently or recently. I reminded him that we sit on the floor together and he gets to choose a carpet square. We listen and it is fun. For about 15 seconds he was silent. I could see his doubtful expression. Why trade a sure thing like TV and video games for the chancy story time? What if the stories are about basket weaving? Or what to wear to a wedding? Or why you should eat anything besides PB&J? Then he looked at me and in all seriousness, mixed with a touch of outrage, said, "They are rectangles."

So now I'm wondering if perhaps there is some genetic trait that makes these kids so particular about their vocabulary. And if so, which branch is responsible for these apples.