Quantification

Is that even a word? I don't know if this is unique to my children but I sure do enjoy it and want to share it with the world.

My daughters quantify everything. Hunger, emotions, magnitudes... you name it, they can quantify it. I think it all began a year or two ago and stemmed from this book

The Nutbrown Hares profess their love for each other with competing measurements: "As high as I can hop" or "As high as I can reach". It's a sweet book that seems to have inspired my daughters to employ measurement as a method of emphasis.

It started with phrases like "I love you 39". Then the ante was upped to "I love you a hundred" or "a thousand". Not to be outdone by the other, it elevated to a million and a zillion. "I love you a zillion" is commonly heard around our home. Other common phrases are, "I love God a zillion but I only love the devil 10." That quickly changed to zero when I reminded them what the Bible said about that.

Some of the funniest are when they quantify their disdain, disappointment, or disgust. "I am a zillion unhappy" or "I am a hundred-thousand-million sad/angry/disappointed/frustrated".. Just pick an emotion and fill in the blank.

They didn't know how to raise the bar after they hit a zillion so they have created an even larger quantity: Italian. Yes, "I am italian hungry" is now a normal expression among the DeJong girls.

Tonight after I put the girls to bed Ellis was angry because I didn't show her the picture in the book I was reading to them. She was horsing around, had taken off her glasses, not paying attention so I didn't wait for her to get situated again. She just missed it. As I walked out of her room and sat back down on the couch I heard her say, "You made me Italian sad and mad!" Which is unfortunate. It's got to be so exhausting to be italian mad. And sad. And... well, anything, really.