1990
De Paul University
Writing from the Inside
Teacher: Zoe Keithley
The Anatomy Lesson
“Mommy I want to take my nap with this skeleton. I really like him”. Says my 3 1/2 year old daughter.
“Well, I guess you could”. Say I, the mom.
It was one of those paper life-size skeletons that you tape to your window for Halloween decoration. What harm could it cause? What damage could Miss Innocent do with a skeleton?
She’s not sleeping yet, I hear her talking to the skeleton. I can’t make out clearly what she is saying. Within a few minutes, she calls me hysterically. She is very excited because she found a new bone! (We had spent hours naming the bones on him. I even had to ask an orthopedic M.D. the technical name for the elbow because I forgot and she HAD to know it.)
“Mom come on, I have to show you this bone I found”. Says Miss Anatomy.
“Ok, Jen show me this bone. (who could believe a 3 1/2 year old could get so excited about a bone?) Say I.
“Mom look right here in front, see this tiny little one right here”. She says pointing to the coccyx bone which hangs down from the spine; it’s like the tip of the spine.
“And mom see I know right where this bone is on my body”. As she points to her clitoris. I can see by the size and shape that a kid could surely get the two mixed up. Dear God, I pray to myself – Don’t let her ask me what that bone is for.
“Jen, you were really thinking about that bone and trying real hard to find it on your body, you are close, but it’s not there in front, but it’s in the back and it hangs off the end of your spine; it’s called the coccyx bone.
“Are you sure Mom? It really looks like this little bone right here”. She says still pointing to her clitoris and doubting my intelligence.
“Yes, Jen, I’m sure its your coccyx bone on the end of your spine”.
Well, thank God she didn’t ask what her clitoris was for; I’m sure that will come up another day. In the meantime, I have time to think about what I will tell her.