My only child moved away about 10 years ago and, while I have young nieces and nephews, I really don’t spend that much time with them. I had forgotten how they can be.

This past week, my 16 year old niece, Bekka, has been staying with me to help out because I had carpal tunnel release surgery.

First of all, it’s absolutely amazing how much she knows. I mean, really, like, she knows EVERYTHING. She must, because every time I try to tell her or show her how to do something, she’s saying “I know” before I can even finish my sentence.

But the funniest thing happened yesterday. We went to the grocery store and she wanted to buy a coconut. Amazingly, she didn’t know how to open it, but, of course, she wasn’t about to ask, either. When I finally realized she was getting seriously frustrated, I went online and got the instructions.

The first thing you have to do is put holes in it at certain points. I suggested she use an ice pick. “A what?” she said. She had never heard the term or seen the tool. Same thing with her 19 year old brother.

I actually have an old fasioned dial telephone. The first time I showed it to them, they could not figure out how it was used.

These things really make me feel little old, but at the same time, it’s nice to still know a few things that they don’t.