Pedal-pushers and Knee-knockers

I'm trying to convince myself that my ankles and calves are among my most lovely features. This is not inconceivable, really. My maternal grandmother had shapely legs well into her seventies, and my mom has always had nice ankles. I'm giving myself this pep talk because I have surrendered to the invasion of capri pants. The last time I had a pair was in third grade, and we called them "pedal-pushers". They were gray with green and burgundy plaid. The new girl in our class called hers "knee-knockers" because she moved to town from England. I wonder where Margaret is these days, and whether she is also pondering the retail insistence that middle-aged women must wear cropped pants that make us look very short and wide in exchange for being cool in the summer. Did she grow up to become an English professor like both her parents? Was Margaret an excellent cook, gardener, musician, artist, writer, life-long learner, scout leader, and inspiration the way her mother was to me? Did she teach kids the funny song that went, "Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot, whatever the weather we'll see it together, whether we like it or not"?