Nerds
Stella got glasses yesterday. She looks totally adorable, and yet each time I look at her, my heart constricts a little: Her face will always look a little different, a little older.
Lila, who is actually jealous of Stella’s poor vision (she wants glasses too), said, “Stella, you look like a nerd.”
“No, she doesn’t,” I said quickly. “Calling someone a nerd is not a nice thing. I got called ‘nerd’ when I was a kid. It hurts people’s feelings.”
“What is a nerd?” Stella asked innocently.
“Nerds are two things,” Lila said. “They are tiny little fizzy candies, and they are also people who are smart and not good at sports, and they usually wear glasses.”
“Is that right, Mommy?” Stella looked to me for clarification.
“Well, yes, roughly,” I said. ” ‘Nerd’ is a not-nice name for people who tend to be smart, and read a lot, and are maybe not so good at sports.”
“So you are a nerd,” Stella confirmed.
