Zing Zang Zoom--Now We Are Six!

Tomorrow is Jarrah's sixth birthday. Six! That is just crazy. I'm thinking about A.A. Milne's Now We Are Six. I should get that for her. I have no idea what happened to my copy.

I just went in to say good night. "I wanted to tuck in my five-year-old for the last time," I told her. "Tomorrow I'll be tucking in my six-year-old."

"But why is it sad?" she asked. Sad? Sad? That doesn't seem quite right. But she was picking up on something, and I couldn't think of the right word to put in sad's place.

She asked for a Zimbo story. That's pretty typical. I've been telling her Zimbo stories for years. Zimbos come from Candy Land and, well, they're my rip-off of the Oompa-Loompas, if you must know. She'll figure it out soon enough, and her childhood dreams will be crushed, just like the time that It's a Small World broke down and I had to get out and walk through the dolls (I think I was 29 at the time, so I had a good run.)

In Zimbo stories, the Zimbos are invited to go somewhere with Jarrah, which they happily do, but mishaps ensue and they "accidentally" turn everyday objects into candy. Slides become sour gummy ribbons, monkey bars become licorice, rocks become giant marshmallows, picnic tables turn into slabs of chocolate. Which just will not do because a) everything will be too sticky to use and b) the kids will eat them, causing potential hazards. (Sorry if this all sounds kind of grimly practical; I was pretty brain-dead in the days I dreamed it up.)

Tonight, Jarrah said she was going to tell me a Zimbo story. That was new. And even more surprising, she told a pretty spot-on version, with all the appropriate flourishes, that went something like this:

Jarrah invited the Zimbos to Butterfly Land. But they turned the trees to chocolate! We said "Zimbos!" They said "sorrysorrysorry" and "Zing Zang Zoom!" And the trees were back to normal. But then they turned the whole playground to jello! Which was dangerous! We said "Zimbos!" They said "sorrysorrysorry" and "Zing Zang Zoom!" And the playground was back to normal. But then we saw, on a picnic table, a giant chocolate cake!

The story always ends with a giant chocolate cake for everyone to share. Just so she doesn't get disappointed by things turning out TOO normal. As in, without any candy left. But today, the story didn't end there.

And Jarrah's mommy and daddy were pretty relieved because they'd forgotten to pack a picnic and they didn't want everyone to starve! But then they tripped on the cake and got cake all over their faces. And the kids went up to them and licked their eyeballs. And their teeth. Then they were all clean, and everyone ate cake and was happy. The End!

I was a little worried because it seemed we were heading down Walking Dead way with the pack of swarming kids and the eyeball-licking. That's what you get for leaving your Entertainment Weekly around when it has zombies on the cover. But it all worked out.

But I think my baby is growing up. I better step up my game.