I win at life.

[boxofdelights]

So Nixie's back at Reed, and we were talking about Paideia and cartwheels and fishbones and stuff, and how this semester is similar to/different from last, and she said, "I love being here, and talking to my friends about what we're all reading, and what we're thinking about what we're reading. And they're all smart, and interesting, and bring interesting perspectives to the discussion, but I miss getting to talk about this stuff with you. Because you--"
"--have different experiences, yeah."
"You have so much more experience, and you say things that no one else says, and you connect things for me that no one else does. I should tell Mungo how lucky he is."
"He doesn't talk to me much about his classes, actually. He tells me more about his social life than you ever did, but not about his classes. I don't know which is better."
"I don't think either is better. Just different. We're different people, so," she said.

My ego grew three sizes that day, I am telling you.


She's reading The Republic.
Have you read the one where Socrates proves to some guy that he's a son of a bitch, I ask her?
No, she says, laughing in anticipation.
Yeah, Socrates asks this guy, he asks, do you have a dog? And the guy says yes I do, and she's a great dog. And is she yours, asks Socrates? I'll fight anyone who says she isn't, says the guy. And has she had puppies, asks Socrates? Yeah, she's a great mom, says the guy. Are you sure they're hers, asks Socrates? Yes, they're hers, I was there when she had them, okay? Right, so, says Socrates, she's a mother. She's yours. Therefore she's your mother, and the puppies are your brothers.

Comments

[bibliofile]

Yay! IMHO, one of the points of college is to be able to talk with all these cool, smart people about everything. Hooray!

Also, good on you & Nixie for realizing that she & Mungo are different people. I didn't catch on to HOW much my brother & I were different for some years.

[amaebi]

I keep wondering where are these colleges/universities where students talk about the matter that comes up in their classes and what they're making or unmaking of it....

[maribou]

Hah! Delightful.

[schemingreader.livejournal.com]

You sure do win at life!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

She's right, you know.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

You are, in fact, fabulous, and one of the Very Best People on Earth to Talk With. You, Nixie and Mungo win at life.

(Also: from self-absorption: I hear these things about college students who talk about books and are ardent for knowledge and all that, and it's so remote from my own undergraduate experience that I'm stumped and stymied. I do relish the chance to say stymied," though.)

[lcohen]

socrates made a leap of logic there that lost me, but it sounds like nixie has found just the right place and appreciates you, so yay!

also, are you by any chance going to fogcon? how about wiscon?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

You do win at life. And so does Nixie, and so does Reed.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

You have good kids. Mind you, you probably have good kids because you were a good mother to them, so wins all round :)

[lookfar.livejournal.com]

Well, of course we know you rock, but it's nice for Nixie to say so.