All Tangled Up

Late one evening, Celeste and I were quietly standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I was combing her wet hair after a bath. As I worked through the tangles, Celeste looked up at me and frowned.

"I wish I didn't have so many nerds." She said to me.

I wondered who she was talking about. Was she dealing with nerds at school? And who? All the kids in her class are pretty cool. Definitely not a nerd in the bunch.

"What nerds, sweetheart?" I asked.

"The nerds in my hair, Mom." She explained to me.

But her hair is clean and I haven't given her any Willy Wonka candy in a long time. I thought picturing the tiny fruity candy.

"Your hair?" I must have sounded like a... well, a Nerd.

"Yes, Mommy. The things in my head that tell me it hurts when you pull my hair."

"Ohhhhhh! Nerves!" I brilliantly figured it out.

"Yes! Nerves!" Celeste nodded.

We both smiled at each other.

Then Celeste frowned.

"Mommy, then what's a Nerd?"