Who was the second woman? Ask Tessa!

Children say the funniest things at times, and even when you are feeling down, their sweet or funny words can put a smile on your face.

My daughter, Tessa, is no exception. She usually keeps me laughing, especially when it comes to her observances about everyday things.

A few years ago, she was attending a Christian pre-school in Tullahoma, and they were learning about the Christmas story. She came home one night and told me about baby Jesus and then mentioned Murray.

I'll admit I'm not much of a Biblical scholar, but I think I would remember a Murray. I asked her who Murray was.

She said, "You know, baby Jesus' momma," and looked at me like I was dumber than a rock.

We like to watch American Idol, and one night during the initial auditions, she looked at me and said, "You know why they can't sing? Their voices are bad."

It was as if she had figured out one of life's great mysteries, although I wish she could tell me why those who are truly atrocious singers try out for a singing show.

Last year, she was stung by a bee, and since then, she has had an absolute fear of anything that buzzes and stings. I'm talking duck-and-cover, find-the-foxhole kind of fear whenever a bee or a wasp comes anywhere near her.

The other morning, we were going to the car to go to school, running late -- and wouldn't you know it -- a huge bee flew up on the front porch.

Tessa stops, drops her head and plows right into me. I said, "Come on, now, it won't bother you if you don't bother it."

She looked up at me, hands on her hips, and said, "Now, Momma, you know I'm afraid of them, and you know they think I'm made of neckerd."

It took me just a second to figure out she meant nectar. She truly believed the bee stung her last year because it thought she was a flower with nectar inside.

She topped herself the other night. We were coming back home from eating Chinese, and she asked me who were the first people on Earth. I told her Adam and Eve, and I said, "I know they had two sons, Cain and Abel."

She said, "Did they grow up and get girlfriends and get married?"

Since my knowledge of Genesis is even more sketchy than what I know about the rest of the Bible, I said, "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Nana about that. She knows more about it than I do."

I heard a gasp from the backseat. "You mean Nana was the second woman on Earth?"

My husband nearly ran off the road from laughing so hard. I also started laughing.

She said, "What? She's old, isn't she?"

This made my husband laugh even harder. He had to pull off on the side of the road, or we would have wound up in a ditch. I called my mom and shared the story with her.

She just laughed and said, "This is going to wind up in your column next week, isn't it?"

How could I disappoint her just a few days after Mother's Day?

I know over the years, Tessa will cause me to laugh even more, and I'm even more sure there will be days when I'll be pulling my hair out over the things she's done and said.

Maybe that's one reason I'm recording a few of these for prosperity, so I can look back and laugh when I feel like crying.