Two mommies

I just returned from the local park with Elisa and had to record a conversation I had with another little girl there. Her name was Ella and she wandered up to us while I was putting Elisa in the swings. With the kind of bravado only city kids have, she quickly made friends with me, asking for a helping hand into the swings and telling me about her sister. Ella is 6 and I reckon she's about at that age where life is getting complicated--school, siblings, the usual. Here's how she explained:

Ella: Guess how many brothers I have in India? I have 10 brothers in India.
Me: Wow, that's a lot of brothers.
Ella: And I have 5 brothers in New York.
Me: Really?
Ella: Yeah, and I have two mommies.
Me: Two?
Ella: One that plays with me, and one that does the dishes.
Me: (Speechless)
Ella: But I only have one dad. And he never does the dishes. He just sits at the computer and doesn't do anything.
Me: Yep, that sounds like a dad.

I don't know exactly whether Ella was exaggerating here or not, and I suspect the word "brother" meant both brothers and sisters to her. In this city, with the mix of cultures and kids, you never know what language or family model kids get at home. But something tells me Ella is an astute observer of her home life in a way that only a kid can be. Since I never saw her mom(s) or dad around the park, I guess I'll have to wait til our next run-in to see this family in action. I guess in theory having two mommies would be ideal. Lord knows I feel like both sometimes--the playful, fun mommy and the cleaning, straightening mommy. And now this mommy is going to go nap.