“Amy was asked, but Jo was not, which was fortunate for all parties, as her elbows were decidedly akimbo at this period of her life, and it took a good many hard knocks to teach her how to get on easily,” Jim read to Claire, who was sprawled out on the couch, trying to build a fort with the cushions. It had started with a comment from Pam – how she treasured the nights her father read to her. So, everyday, Jim started reading some classics to Claire. They had already read Alice in Wonderland, Anne of Green Gables, and were now working on Little Women. Jim knew the eight year old wasn’t always into it, but, still, everyday they read.

            “Daddy? What’s akimbo?” came a voice from behind the cushions.

            “Care Bear, what do we do when we don’t know a word?”

            “Look it up…” Claire sighed and climbed out of her fort. “How do you spell it?”

            “Sound it out. A-Kim-Bow.”

            Claire flipped the pages of the dictionary, trying to find the word. “A.. Kim… A-k… A-k-i-m… here it is… having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward. Oh, like this,” Claire demonstrates.

            “Yep, sweetie. Your arms are akimbo.” Jim smiles at his daughter, prancing around, proud of her new knowledge.

            Claire runs to the bottom of the stairs, “Mommy! My arms are akimbo!”

            “What?” Pam calls down, confused.

            “Akimbo! See, my arms are like this. Hands on hip, elbows out!” Claire exaggerates the position of her arms for her mom’s affect.

            “Um, great honey!”

            Claire runs back to the living room, and climbs back into her fort. “Okay, go on daddy.”

            “Amy was asked, but Jo was not, which was fortunate for all parties, as her elbows were decidedly akimbo at this period of her life, and it took a good many hard knocks to teach her how to get on easily. The ‘haughty, uninteresting creature’ was let severely alone…”