Conversations

Holden: "Oh no! I left my pad and pencil in my class!"

Mom: "You'll have to get it tomorrow."

Holden starts to tear up and his lower lip slides out.

Mom: "Put that lip back."

Holden (wiping a tear): "When I cry, I try to put it in, but it just pops back out."

***
Dad: "Riley, how old will you be on your birthday?"

Riley: "Five!"

Dad: "Are you sure? Let's count."

Riley: "One, two, five!"

***
Holden: "... And we used cotton balls and glued on eyes and it had a red nose. And then I colored the barf brown."

Mom: "Wait. You colored in clam barf?"

Holden: "Yeah, the clam had barf. That's what the teacher said. I don't even know what she's talking about."

Mom: "Maybe she said 'bark,' like the wood on a log?"

Holden: "Oh."