weird conversation

Yesterday the daughter of an elderly neighbor was hanging out at the community pool. She is my age and she has a daughter Z's age. Z sometimes plays with her when she comes to visit her grandmother.

Well the elderly neighbor really likes Z. Z helped her get her mail when her wrist was broken and we sometimes visit each other and have tea and talk about scrapbooking or travel. We see her a lot outside and she always talks to Z and asks when she is doing. Well, I guess my neighbor must talk about Z to her daughter because she was asking me some weird questions yesteday.

This lady seems kind of nice but stand-offish. Anyway yesterday she asked me "So when did you know that Z was gifted? Did she do something that made you think 'She is really gifted!"

"Ummmmm...." I was caught off guard and tried to think what to say "Well, yeah. You know... "

"Like what?" she asks.

"Well... ummmm... Well she was walking at nine months and reading before she turned three." I said in what I hope was a you-know-how-things-are voice.

She didn't say antyhing or even look at me.

Okay....

Then she turns to me and say 'So did you have her I.Q. tested or something?"

"Yep," I nodded "When she was four..."

Again she doesn't say anything, then, "So is she some kind of genius or something?"

I gave a little *heh* "No... We don't really use the word genius. I think a genuis is someone like Einstein. But really it is not a scientific term or an official ranking or something. Z is just gifted."

After that I got up and walked away. Luckily I knew someone else at the pool that I could talk to. I talked about Will Farrell movies with him.

I can only imagine what my elderly neighbor must have been saying to her daughter to get her to ask me those types of questions. And it wasn't like she was asking me in a nice way. It was like she wanted me to defend myself.

Oh yeah, before she started asking about the gifted stuff she said "You homeschool Z right?" I said that I did and she said "Doesn't she ever just say that she doesn't want to do any school?"

I sat there for awhile thinking about it. There have been times when she maybe didn't want to do particular subjects in a particular order or times when I think she didn't want to practice piano. But I couldn't think of a time when Z said she didn't want to do school. "No, not really." I said.

Just then Z came over and I said "Hey Z, So and So was wondering if you ever tell me that you don't want to do your homeschooling that day." Z looked at me like I was foolish and said "No." and then jumped back in the pool.

Anyway, overall it was a very off-putting conversation.