Shopping with Christina

Have you ever met a 10 year old that you can totally picture as a 30 year old and yet is so delightfully 10? Meet Christina. I met her when she was 5. It’s hard to believe I’ve known her that long. She’s the kind of kid who answers the phone in her squeaky little voice, “Hello, this is Christina” with an inviting little crescendo at the end. If her tone were older you’d think you’d have just called your hair salon, a local clinic or some other professional business. But if you ask Christina a question or two you will start her in “chatty girlfriend” mode. I’ve seen her in action. And not just listening to her but seeing her go on about her day and what all happened while loading the dishwasher as if her were her mom’s age. A full-fledged multitasker at 10.

The other day I took Christina on a trip to the mall. She had one thing in mind. She wanted to get a make-up kit for “doing make-overs” when her friends come over. She’s not allowed to wear make-up outside the house until she’s 16 she told me. Of course Christina wanted as much bang for her buck as possible. Her hope was to find an all-in-one kit for around $15. We checked at least three stores for what she was looking for in addition to a few stops for me. My bargain hunter wasn’t convinced it was a great find to have a set with 33 eye shadows, two lip sticks and 4 more lip glosses, plus a couple of blush colors and all the applicators for $12 bucks until she’d seen the other options.

Christina entertained herself while I tried on clothes in another store. I listened to her take three sales calls on her imaginary cell phone and handle them all very pleasantly but firmly. The most impressive thing about Christina is her polite manner. She said please and thank you and every turn and was thoughtful enough of others to bring home a sticker for her little sister.

She’s quite grown-up but she still likes to hold your hand while crossing the parking lot. She is still 10 after all. But her engaging conversation style might make you think otherwise. I’m sure I’ll blink one day and she will be 30.