Hey la, Gloria's back!

Pizza & old maids

For the next two weeks, my cousin's darling daughter, Gloria, is visiting from Florida. She's all of six-and-a-half years old — and given how vehemently she reiterated it, the "and-a-half" is key. 

Every summer for the past few years, she's come to stay with my Aunt Kal for a brief spell, and together we've gone to parades, the zoo, and watched only the best Disney movies. On Tuesday night, my mom and I carted all the fixings (and our girliest aprons) over to Kal's house and attempted homemade pizza.

Gloria was very smart about the process and had all the answers, like how best to situate her step-stool so she could reach the counter. She also explained that sometimes just rinsing your hands is better than a full-on soapy washing. Also: 3 + 3 + 3 pepperonis = 9 pepperonis.

For girl of not-yet-seven, Gloria has some major self-discipline. For instance, she didn't follow my lead in stuffing her face with taco dip, but rather warned me not to spoil my dinner — though she admitted to understanding that (when it comes to dips) I just can't help myself. Of course, when I asked what she eats in an "I just can't help myself!" way, her answer was watermelon. Girl's got some healthy habits. 

As for the pizza itself, it couldn't be less glamorous. The ingredients: Pillsbury pizza dough, Ragu sauce, Roundy's shredded mozzarella, deli peperoni, and some chopped veggies. But Gloria doesn't do fancy dining anyway — she's all about the plain cheese. And in the end, it was plenty tasty (though no Harmony). 

Zombie Kevin & Gloria.

After dinner, we goofed around, Gloria taught me some ballet moves, and we played Go Fish. Which: You don't just say "Go fish" when someone asks you for a card and you don't have it — you say "No. Go fish." Thank you for explaining the rules in such detail, Gloria. And after Go Fish came Old Maid. And when Gloria was stuck with the old maid card, she ran from the room, wailing with tears. 

I remember being that kid. I wanted it to be a teaching moment for Gloria, but instead we just kind of smoothed it over. Though I did tell her that nowadays "old maids" have the most fun; they're strong, independent women who get to do just what they want. I think my modern take on Old Maid sailed right over her head. But I've still got almost two weeks to trade wisdom with my favorite six-and-a-half-year-old.