We learnt something a little terrifying today.

We visited Vancouver Island last month, and met a lovely unschooling family with three children, two boys aged 15 and 10, and a girl, Nibs to friends, Flora’s age. You’d think Flora and Nibs would click, and they certainly did enjoy playing with each other. But it was the 10-year-old brother who captured Flora’s heart. She impressed him too. He hospitably took both Austen and Flora to the playroom as soon as we arrived so they could check out his Lego collection. A while later he came down, “Gosh, Mom, that little girl is really intelligent,” he told his mother. “She knows all about Star Wars.”

Driving home today, in the middle of Calgary’s inevitable May snowstorm, Flora, out of the blue, announced, “I’m not quite sure who I’m going to marry yet.” This, incidentally, has been a question that’s been weighing heavily on her mind ever since she found out she couldn’t marry Austen. (“Yuck!” she said. “I am not mating with a stranger!” Good to hear, girl, good to hear.) Sean and I looked at each other, biting our lips. “But,” Flora continued, “K. is definitely on the top of my list. Because he knows all about Lego and Star Wars, and those are important qualities in a Daddy.” Pause. “And he has nice blond hair.” Pause. “So I’m not quite sure yet. But he’s at the top of my list, and I think he’ll be hard to beat.”

We didn’t laugh. But Sean did say, “Flora? You have a list?” To which she responded, “Of course, Daddy. Didn’t you?”