Indiana Idylls

Since Paul was home to man the fort, I was able to bike over to Bracken Library with Alex for the health insurance q/a session. On our way home, I noticed some irises that I hadn't seen before. Alex: Irises? Me: Yes, it's a kind of flower. I will point them out next time we pass some. Alex: I know about irises from the St. Patrick's Day book. Me: What? Irises don't have anything to do with St. Patri.... do you mean "Irish"? Alex: Yes. Irishes. Me: That's a good connection, but irises are a kind of flower, and the Irish are people who live in Ireland. Irises don't have anything to with St. Patrick's Day. They're just in bloom now. But if you add an "h" at the end, it spells Irish. You're a smart cookie. Alex: Yeah. I know.

We had Fr. John over for lunch today, as he's being reassigned after 19 years at St. Francis. He's good company, and an intriguing character -- an artist of many media. He's also a kid at heart, so he happily joined Alex at his coloring book. I don't remember the specific exchange, but in the course of conversation Alex used "whom" correctly when asking a question, and us three adults cracked up. I still laugh thinking about it. (In an earlier instance today, also vaguely remembered, I used "whom" when speaking with Alex and I noted that he noted that I had said "whom". I think he repeated it. I didn't go into explanation but went about my business.)

Alex cut these pieces out all by himself.