Pedestrian

Some thoughts that Lucy expressed during the year when she was 4 years old.  Leopard and Kitty are stuffed animals and also Lucy’s invisible animal friends who are a sage source of wisdom and advice, as in “Leopard told me …” or “Kitty knows …” or “Leopard already did that …” and Wanda is our elderly cat.

November 2008
“I have a date with Leopard. We had a fight. We’re going to talk.”

“If you’re zero years old then you’re just a seed that is put in someone’s tummy”

“I can’t take naps at home because my [stuffed] animals are talking and wake me up”

(looking at leaf on sidewalk) “That’s a footprint of a dinosaur made out of a leaf”

(in car with music playing) “My feet are singing”

(smelling the air) “My nose is stinky”

“Since I have food in my tummy I am not having a sad day”

“Did you notice I can jump and twirl my arms at the same time?”

When asked “Do you know how much I love you?” She answers, “yes, five.”

(near harrison/20th in the mission district in San Francisco) “This would be a good place to live because you can see the sun setting and it’s really beautiful.”

February 2009

“A long time ago, before I had a momma and mommy, it was just me and Leopard and Wanda and we were saving pigeons.”

Lucy sits down at dinner table and notices I made her a “cocktail” (fizzy juice with a maraschino cherry) and says, “You didn’t have to make me a cocktail, Mommy. I didn’t ask you for one. Thank you so much for making me a cocktail.”

She put the cap on her scissors and said, “Look at me! Now I can run with scissors because the cap is on and I’m protected”

March 2009

(after her great-grandmother died) “Dead people aren’t as fun because you can’t show them your toys or play with them, you can only remember them, not as fun.”

“I’m tired of running but I don’t want to walk so I have to run”

Listening to Obama read his book and Lucy says “Obama’s grandparents are from the same Kansas as Dorothy!” (devoted Wizard of Oz fan)

April 2009
“I’m thinking of what it might look like inside of a song – how is music made?”

“The clouds in the sky look like blurry thunder”

Lucy ate a sardine and asked, “Where did it come from? Does it know that I’m eating it?

At the top of Twin Peaks at night, looking at the city, Lucy gasps, “it looks like a toy! So pretty!”

May 2009

Woman with a child was shouting expletives on F-Market and apologizes to Lucy.  Lucy says, “she’s angry because didn’t sleep well.”  I asked Lucy if she heard every expletive and insult that was screamed for 10 minutes. She says, “No, I didn’t open my ears.”

June 2009
(talking about dealing with being afraid of the dark) “I can go under the covers in my bed and then I own my own darkness”

“I didn’t step on the millipede because I think it wants to live”

July 2009
Lucy’s invisible friends Leopard and Kitty (who are also stuffed animals) apparently had their first day of kindergarten today and Lucy has a talk with them about what it was like and how they feel about kindergarten.

“The spinney thing makes the dizzy part of my body go to my tummy,” says Lucy while spinning on playground equipment.

August 2009

“I know everything I already need to know. I never need to know anything else”

“Being smart means you know a lot of stuff and your brain is really strong and you can think of lots of things”

“Even if I already know how to do the whole thing I need to practice to get more good”