The honest truth

With Scott in the U.S. Annie is having to utilize her broken Mandarin on a much more regular basis. Given this recent influx of Chinese speech, Mr. Chen has been particularly impressed ... complimenting her frequently on her recent rapid progress.

Yesterday he complimented her again and said Lillie had also told him that she thought her mom's Chinese was very good. Annie turned to Lillie and thanked her for the compliment. In a serious dead-panned voice Lillie looked right at her and said, "Mama I didn't tell him that you spoke good Chinese ... I told him that your Chinese was pretty bad and that I can't understand you at all!"

Nothing like a little brutal honesty from a four year-old to crush the emotional high of a little personal development.