Discussion with Madeleine

While we hung out this evening, Madeleine and I had the following conversation:

MADELEINE: Mama?  Why do only GROWN-UPS have hairy brown things on their arms?
ME: You mean moles?  Not only grown-ups have moles.  You have one right there.
MADELEINE: No.  Mama.  HAIRY brown things.
ME: Well, some moles are hairy, but-
MADELEINE: No.  MAMA.  Hang on.  Let me see your arm.  (lifting my arm up to examine my under-arm)
ME: Oh, do you mean hair that grows under your armpit?  Well, I shaved mine, but you're right, only grown-ups grow hair there.
MADELEINE: But do I have hair there?
ME: No, you won't get hair there until you're older. 
MADELEINE: When will I get hair there?
ME: Well, not until you're older.
MADELEINE: When will I grow breasts??
ME: Probably not until you're around ten or eleven.
MADELEINE: Waaah.  I wish I was ten!
ME: Why? 
MADELEINE: Because.  I want to have a baby!

YIKES.  I sure HOPE Madeleine doesn't become a mother at ten.

ME: Oh, you won't have a baby when you're ten.  A 10-year-old is too little to grow a baby inside her.
MADELEINE: How old do you have to be to grow a baby?
ME: Well, I was 28 when I had Julia growing inside my belly.
MADELEINE: So I'm gonna get a baby when I'm 28?
ME: Well, sometime when you're a grown-up.
MADELEINE: But is ten a grown-up?
ME: No, ten is a kid.
MADELEINE: How about eleven?
ME: Eleven is still a kid.
MADELEINE: (indignant) No!  Eleven is a TWEENAGER.
ME: Well, that's true, but it's still a kid.
MADELEINE: When do you NOT be a kid?
ME: Well, the law says that you're a grown-up when you turn eighteen.
MADELEINE: How about thirteen?
ME: Still a kid.  Eighteen is a grown-up.  You'll be eighteen when you go to college.
MADELEINE: No!  I'm not GOING to college!
ME: Oh, you should definitely go to college.
MADELEINE: Why?
ME: Because.  How will you learn what you need to know about the kind of job you want to have if you don't study about it in college?  What kind of job do you want to have when you're a grown up?
MADELEINE: I would really LOVE to be a cashier!

Sheesh, Madeleine.  You're not helping me out here.  You want to have a baby at ten and be a cashier as your dream career?  You're right, I guess you don't need to go to college for that...