When A Six-Year-Old Asks

Son asks, "Mama, how does the baby get out?"
Mama gives standard answer that has worked just find since child was three, "the doctor helps it, honey."
*pause*
"But, how does the baby get in?"
And now you know the power of a preposition.

* * * * *

Driving along a street flanked with modest, ranch-style homes, we pass one with this in the driveway. (Obviously, this picture is not taken in our Michigan town in February.) Son looks at it, turns to me, and says, "And why would they buy that anyway when they aren't even fancy?"

* * * * *

Nearly every morning, Son wakes up and wants to play video games. Typically, he plays JumpStart, which is a virtual world game where you make progress by completing tasks in the Math and Reading Arcades. But sometimes he wants to play something he saw on a computer at the after-school program. This morning, he asked if he could play "The World's Hardest Game." I told him I would look at it and decide.

"How do you spell 'world'?" he asked, poking one finger decisively onto the keys. "How do you spell 'hardest'?" We got through the spelling. I checked out the (perfectly safe) game. He started playing. For about two minutes, all I heard was, "Oh, come on! Oh, come on! Oh, come on!" every ten seconds or so as his little red square "died." There was a pause.

Then, "Mama," he said, "how do you spell 'easiest'?"


Remember: If you want moral support for your own personal fitness challenge in February, join us. And if you've already signed on, don't forget to email me your progress report tomorrow so that I can post an update on Sunday. What's working for you? What do you have to celebrate? What do you still want to work on?