Potty talk

We parents can't help but wonder whether our beloved children will become wiser in the ways of the world after they start kindergarten. If every girl in the class is a raging Hannah Montana fan, will I suddenly be fielding requests to turn it on? Or worse, will I be presented with a Christmas list of items with Miley Cyrus plastered all over them? It's enough to keep a parent awake at night ...

So the other day, when I had all three kids in the car, Lauren and Maddie started giggling about 'potty talk.' I figured I was about to hear a chorus of pee-pees and poops. In my opinion, still preferable to two kids requesting Hannah Montana makeovers, though others might disagree.

But instead of the pee and poop chorus, they kept cackling about potty talk. They were about to start and they were giggling with excitement.

My hand gripped the wheel a little harder. If I'm lucky, I thought, maybe they're about to add some other innocuous word to their lexicon, like doodie or something. I made a mental list of the words I used to put in Mad Libs when I was in fourth grade. Probably the best-case scenario. Worse would be if they were placed in kindergarten with some alumni from Mrs. Ho's Child Care for Troubled Youth in Training and were about to deliver something with four letters and an explanation like, "Joe Bob says it all the time!"

I was checking to see how much of an angry face would show in the rearview mirror when Maddie nominated Lauren to deliver the potty talk. With another giggle or two, Lauren complied:

"I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"

Innocence: Intact. Inherent goofiness: Something they'll be trying to overcome for the rest of their lives.