The letter m

m

Sounds from the Woods…

He: Mom, noses are like the letter M.
Me: They are?
He: Yes. They have a line in the middle, and bumps on the sides.

Bigger Than You

Looking Out the Boat

She: I’m bigger than you.

He: We’re not going to talk about that.

She: I’m still bigger than you.

He: So why is that?

I think he held his own pretty well. She’s 11; he’s 4…

Learning about Sandwiches

Sounds from the Woods:

Little Guy: Dad, I need you.

Big Guy: What do you need?

Little Guy: Will you feel my sandwich?

Big Guy: What does it feel like?

Little Guy: It feels wet.

Big Guy: Why does it feel wet?

Little Guy: I just washed the dirt off.

Big Guy: Son, when a sandwich feels like that, it’s time for a new sandwich.

Sounds from the Wood

Demuth Painting Detail

“Mom, the number 5 has a tummy ache on it.”
~Wandering Wood

Donna

“See, Donna is like a queen…”

~Wandering, listening to Dancing Queen.

That’s right, son, and don’t ever forget it.

Heavenly Crater,

Thank you for this wonderful fork, and thank you for this wonderful napkin, and thank you for this wonderful table, and thank you for this wonderful water, and thank you for this wonderful food.

AMEN!

(At the table with Wandering Wood…)

(The Pledge of Allegiance is rather amusing, too.)

Waking Up

Me: Horizontal

He: Vertical

He: Mom, do you want to know how to wake up?

Me: Yes.

He: OK. This is how you wake up. You pull down the covers to get cool, you put your feet on the floor, and you walk to the kitchen. Then you turn on the waffle maker.

Me: Oh.

Waffler

He’s on a bit of a waffle jag.

Little Siblings Are the Cutest

Little Siblings Are the Cutest

Wondering: Wow, I’ve never seen a husky puppy. It’s SO cute!
Me: Yes, puppies are about the cutest.
Wondering: Third cutest; kittens are second.
Me: What’s first?
Wondering: Little siblings.

And this is the reason why…

Cowboy

Dinner conversation last night:

Wandering: My teacher said you cannot say lives. If we say lives, we will get in trouble, and we will be busted, and we will have to go to the office, and we will be punished and have a time out.

Me: I see.

Wandering: That’s right.

Me: So, who says lies?

Wandering: Nobody, or we will get in trouble and be busted and have to go to the office and be punished. And we will have a time out.

Me: I see. So, do you know what that means?

Wandering: What?

Me: Telling lies.

Wandering: We don’t say lives or we will get in trouble…

Me: Yes, but do you know what that means, “saying lies?”

Wandering: Chickens save lives.

Me: Chickens save lives?

Wandering: Yes, they do. And they get in trouble.

Me: So, nobody is allowed to save lives?

Wandering: That’s right. Or they will be busted. My teacher said.

♥

And that, my friends, is the danger of teaching ethics in preschool. Someone might get busted for saving lives.

Some Days…

I have conversations like the one I had with Wondering when she was 5 years old about Frank and Eleanor, two of our three cats at the time.

Whispering: Do you see Frank looking at you?

Wondering: Mommy, you know what Daddy told me?

Whispering: What honey?

Wondering: He told me that Eleanor died.

Whispering: How did you feel about that?

Wondering: I was very sad.

Whispering: Me too.

Wondering: Some days when I die…

Whispering: You won’t die for a long time.

Wondering: Yes I will. I die too.

Whispering: Not for a long time.

Wondering: I do TOO die!

Whispering: Not till you’re very old.

Wondering: I AM old already! I’m this many years old.

Whispering: I know. You are a very big girl. And I am very proud of you. And I love you so much.

Wondering: I love you too, Mama. And I love Eleanor.

Whispering: Me too.

Wondering: She’s very little, and I can carry her.

Whispering: I know. I like to carry her too.

Wondering: She’s a very nice kitty.

Whispering: Eleanor loves you, too.

Wondering: Me too, Mama.

As much as these conversations hurt, they make me feel so fortunate. Sharing these moments with a growing, blossoming child is unbeatable. It makes me feel like I am blooming myself, all over. Once again, the world is new.

“Knocking on Heaven’s Door”

Oddly, Frank didn’t last long without Eleanor, though he was several years younger. Gone just a few months later. And I remember her words filled with hurt and abandonment and mourning and desperation and tears, “Why are you putting Frank in a box?”

She drew a beautiful picture of Frank and Eleanor that day. And she began thinking about loss. And she likes Mourning Cloak butterflies best of all.