On Being Less Eloquent and Less Polite than a 10 Year Old

The three of us entered our apartment building with our cart of groceries. A boy, appearing to be about 10 years old, who lives on the fourth floor, entered with us coming home from school.

We took the elevator because of the groceries. He took the elevator because he lives on the fourth floor.

He greeted us so assertively, so politely, so eloquently by saying, "Bonsoir!"

I choked back my "Bonjour!" and changed it to "Bonsoir!" just in time.

We rode in silence, which I guess is typical for an elevator, but it was really because I was speechless.

We got off on the 2nd floor and he said so assertively, so politely, so eloquently, "Au revoir! Bonne soirée!"

To be honest, I really can't remember if I said anything in response. One third stunned by his sweet elegance, one third with a total mind blank of what to say and how to say it, one third wrestling a cart of groceries and a two year old out the door, I was mostly speechless.

(I've realized recently how much of our communication right now actually consists of awkward gestures and incoherent grunts and mumbles. We think we're saying something--some sort of mix of English and French in our minds--but what comes out in the speed of the moment are really just odd stutters and stammers. So when a boy says "Goodbye, Have a nice evening" your head says something like "Goodbye...Bonsoir...Goodnight..Bon soiree...Have a good day...no, it's evening now stupid...Merci...good evening...salut...what's the word for...Bonjour...You too...thank you...toi aussi..." and in the midst of flipping through all of that, it's hard to tell what actually really comes out in the end of that split second. To top it off, we sort of randomly wave our hands in the air along with it as if that makes things more clear. Or, the split second passes without us saying a n y t h i n g at all---the other person wonders why we're so rudely mute and we think of what should have been said several minutes later.)

I've met plenty of scary 10 year olds in my day, but I'm not sure I've ever been so intimidated by one. Oh, to have the class and the eloquence of a 10-year old!