Newsflash: I am not magnetic

Rachel was experimenting with magnets this afternoon—determining whether or not any given object was magnetic by placing one of her princess magnets on the item. This worked well enough in proving the door wasn't magnetic but the pole of the floor lamp was. Since those objects are vertical it was easy to see magnetic power at work—if the magnet stayed then the item was magnetic; if it fell then the item was not magnetic.

When she moved onto horizontal surfaces, however, things got a little more confusing.

"My bench is magnetic!" she declared.

"No, it's not," I told her.

"Yes, it is!" she insisted. "Watch this!"

She dropped her magnet onto the bench. The magnet appeared to stick to the bench; at least, it didn't fall off the bench...because the bench is a horizontal surface.

"Yeah, that's gravity holding the magnet to the bench. Wood isn't magnetic."

Rachel looked at me defiantly.

"You're not magnetic!" she retorted.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that!" I laughed.

Several weeks ago—maybe months ago—Rachel was getting too hyper for her own good. She was running around the house screaming, throwing temper tantrums left and right, giggling, dancing, twirling. In short she was getting a little maniacal.

At one point I standing in the kitchen, ignoring Rachel's flamboyant tirades, and trying to talk with Reid and Karen. Quick as a flash, Rachel climbed onto the bench and jumped at me. I think she was expecting me to catch her but I wasn't prepared to do that so instead she just bounced off me and landed on the floor.

"Well, what did you think would happen?!" I asked in an exasperated tone as I picked up the sobbing heap she'd crumpled into, "I am not magnetic!!"

Andrew's parents thought that was a great line. It was definitely one for my list-o-things-I-never-thought-I'd-hear-myself-say.