Ten minutes ago, amid a discussion with Sy about how our eyesight sometimes grows worse as we age, Samera chimes in with, "That happens with ears, too. Right, mom? (Not a question, mind you. The girl doesn't ask questions. It was just a statement she wanted me to back her up on) That's what they think happened to Beethoven..." and proceeded to give me an in-depth synopsis of Beethoven's life and work, ending with an exclamatory, "He wrote NINE symphonies! Can you believe it?! That is a LOT of work!" (hand gestures and heavy emphasizing were used)
These are just a few of the things I learned from our interchange:
1. Samera knows who Beethoven is.
2. Samera knows more about Beethoven than I do.
3. Therefore, I have no idea whether or not she is correct.
4. Beethoven yelled at people, because he could hear the music in his head, and he thought he was right and they were wrong.
5. Apparently Beethoven had a fight with a friend, and ended up ripping up one symphony (I don't know if Beethoven or the friend ripped it - she was talking so fast and hard, my memory was in overdrive trying to mentally record it all).
6. So, it was thought that there were only 8 symphonies, but there are 9. Someone found it, put it together, and re-wrote it. According to Samera. If you could see the gesticulating with it, it would make infinitely more sense. And be WAY more interesting. Believe me.
7. His first symphonies were calm and quiet because they were written when we was a "happier man."
8. Beethoven's Fifth is Samera's favorite symphony.
3 comments:
Well, I'm glad they didn't teach her that he was an absolute slob ("friends" would replace clothing during the night and he wouldn't even know the difference), or that he never emptied his chamberpot (allowing it to spill over and seep into the floorboards and drip on his downstairs neighbors), or that he had a habit of constantly rubbing his protruding front teeth with a napkin (well, I guess that one's not too bad).
If only we could all be Cam Jansen (another good set of books [referencing your earlier facebook post])and remember all those moments we never want to forget with our kids. Until then, we blog.
That is awesome! Sometimes I wish I could take grade school all over again. My nephews are much smarter than I am.
It's my first time on your blog, what a fun girl you have. I love when my kids school me!
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