We were at the wedding of our beloved cousin, Nick, this weekend. At the reception, we had a sit-down lunch in a ballroom. The wedding party was seated on the stage. Scoochy looked up with a questioning face at the wall of tables above our heads. (We were seated right next to the stage. So close in fact, we couldn't see the faces of the wedding party, only the tablecloths draping down.)Scoochy: Mom, why are they sitting up there?
Me: Well, sweetie, those are the important people. We're just the peons.
Scoochy was thoughtful for a moment. Suddenly you could see a horrible thought had dawned on her. Her face went from pensive to horror-stricken.
Scoochy: You mean they're going to "pee on" us?!
It took me a second to realize why she would even say that. Of course, we all erupted in laughter and Scoochy, being a sensitive soul, had to have it explained that we weren't laughing at her. Once we told her what "peon" meant, she thought it was hilarious as well and insisted that we tell everyone what happened.
Lesson learned: be careful what words you choose when the very imaginative listener doesn't know the definition.
