Just a Minute Janet

Vaughn has discovered that there are 60 seconds in a minute. This is unfortunate because one of my favorite phrases since I was at least his age, if not younger, is “just a minute,” and I still make liberal use of it today. Not as a specific measurement of time, but more as an arbitrary, vague, abstract state of existence, something akin to “sometime this century.” I did not realize what was going on at first when after I said to him “just a minute” he started counting under his breath. I had a vague awareness of him looking over my shoulder breathing “1-2-3-4-5-6-7…,” but didn’t pay it much mind until he screamed, “THAT’S IT! THAT’S A MINUTE.” I still didn’t quite get it until he further illuminated me by sharing this little nugget of wisdom, “Mommy, did you know that there are 60 seconds in a minute?” Even then, I was so engrossed in what I was doing after I had just uttered my trademark “just a minute,” only peripherally registering the fact that he was counting again “…55-56-57-58-60! THAT’S IT! YOUR TIME IS UP.” It was at that point I pulled my head out long enough to connect the dots and realize that my son had become a walking egg timer.