I’m a grandma. And I tweet. Not as much as some, but more than some others. Yeah. Yeah. I’m familiar with the arguments of information vs opinion, the social/business perceptions of followers vs followees, the “too connected” society, and yes, the narcissistic piece of it all.

But still I tweet. And I follow.

I honestly don’t know why I follow some of the people I follow. Sometimes I follow a recommendation. Other times I follow someone who is followed by one of my followers or followees. It can get complicated.

Still, I tweet… and every once-in-awhile an intriguing set of 140 characters strung together catches my eye. This happened this past Sunday evening at 7:34 PM when I read this tweet by @yummymummyclub:

My 9 year old son is asking: Why are beautiful people treated nicer than people who aren’t as beautiful? Send us your answer!!

“Hmmmmm,” I thought. And “Hmmmmm,” I thought again. This was a formidable question for anyone, never mind a 9-year old boy. And if questions truly are “diamonds we hold in the light”… then this diamond of a question deserved more than an impulsive 140 characters. I tweeted back @yummymummyclub at 7:37:

Interesting question. I’m curious as to what prompted your son to ask this question!?

And at 7:44, I was tweeted back by the 9-year old boy himself:

My name is Josh. I asked the question because of the paper bag princess. Why the prince didn’t like her in a bag.

“Ah,” I thought. “All of life and time and wisdom and culture and love all wrapped up in this question about the princess in the paper bag.” I assumed that the princess and the prince were characters in a book… characters who had so moved or surprised or disappointed Josh enough to send his inquiry out to the world through his mom. I googled paper bag princess and tweeted back to Josh through his mom at 7:56:

Hi Josh. I haven’t read The Paper Bag Princess. You have me very intrigued. I will read it and answer your excellent question.

Early yesterday morning, I called my local bookstore and inquired about The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko. There was a copy available and I hopped into my car to go purchase it. It’s a picture book, first published in 1980 and now in its 60th printing. I honestly cannot believe that this book has escaped me all these decades. After all, I am a mom of 4 grown children, a grandmother of 9… and I am a retired English teacher and Reading Specialist. And as I sat and read and turned the pages, I saw the most brilliant, imaginative, industrious, funny and lovely princess emerge through the words and exquisitely humorous illustrations. And I met the most pompously undesirable prince on the second to the last page!

Ah, ha! I clearly could see the question of a 9-year old boy. Or more accurately, the tweet of the 9-year old boy’s mom. And even with my smile at the book’s ending, as a woman, a mom and a grandma… I better see the seeds of wisdom being sown into the brilliant mind of Josh.

I wouldn’t have seen or known any of this without Twitter.

(And one more thing. My last tweet to Josh was written at 8:01. It said:

One more thing, Josh. You have inspired me to read The Paper Bag Princess with my two 8-year old granddaughters! Thank you!

I can’t wait to share The Paper Bag Princess with Taylor and Maddie. And I’m also going to read it with my grandsons Andrew (almost 7), Jake and William (5), and Alex (4).  Benjamin (2),  and Henry and Dylan (1) are still too young for discussions of this magnitude!

JOSH… I will share with you their answers, and my answer, to your diamond of a question! I’ll tweet your mom when I write that post!)