And then there is the task of cutting fingernails.
With Nils, it's no big deal. He's happy to have his fingernails cut and sits mesmerized by the clicking nailclippers. Carolena is a different story.
It's not the actual cutting that is difficult - it's convincing her that they need to be cut. Once I convince her that it's time for a trim, cutting them is no big deal. But it usually takes a day or two of "hey, your nails are getting long..." before she will give in and let me cut them. There is also usually some light bribery of nail polishing involved.
A week or so ago I screeched out when she accidentally scratched me, "yikes! you've got claws!" (a phrase she made up to say to Nils). She frowned at her nails for a minute, shrugged, apologized, and changed the conversation. I brought up her nails a few more times, warning her that it's time to cut them. Her (daily) response? "We'll cut them tomorrow."
Yeah, just like I'll give up coffee again tomorrow.
I finally realized something is up. So I plopped down next to her and asked, "Are you trying to grow your nails out long?"
"Yeahhh..." she sheepishly replied.
"Well," I told her, "most grown up women who have long nails... those are fake."
She giggled and glanced around the room as though looking for the hidden cameras. I had to be joking right? So I explained to her the concept of fake nails.
"I don't think your nails are going to get that long" I said, "I really think we need to keep them short so that you don't accidentally scratch other people."
And that was when she revealed to me what she's really up to...
She scrambled off the chair and grabbed a Highlight's magazine, quickly flipping to the page she wanted and handing it to me. "This is what I'm doing" she said. And handed me this:
Ah yes, that explains it. Of course. She's going for a Guinness World Record.
I am cracking up; that is awesome.
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