She's a Problem-Solver

A couple of weeks ago, we had dinner at Bar Louie in downtown Kirkwood. The girls each had a strand of Mardi Gras beads to occupy their hands during the down times, which works wonderfully when beads can be anything from dolls to decorations. It was a lovely evening, and after dinner we hung around Station Plaza and tossed coins into the fountain. Eventually, Ellie decided to contribute her beads to the cause at the bottom of the pool.

"Alas," I said. "The beads are gone. No more beads."

Ellie was OK with that. Daddy went to get the car and the girls and I headed up the street; we made arrangements to meet at Coldstone for an after-dinner treat. As we walked, enjoying the warm, breezy evening, we chatted about the week, the weather, the scenery. Ellie lagged behind a little bit, as she is wont to do.

Suddenly, Ada stopped. She had a solution to the problem I'd nearly forgotten.

"We need a duck! To gedda necklace! From fountain!"

I concurred that a duck would be helpful in retrieving the beads, and we strolled along.

A few steps later, Ada had another idea. "Nemo get 'em beads. Dori help."

Well, that solves that! Ada still talks about the missing necklace nearly every day, but she hasn't yet come up with a better retrieval scheme than those she concocted on the spot. And I have to admit that the ideas were pretty clever.