Thursday, February 25, 2010


Matthew has recently forsaken the "Why?" stage of childhood, instead requiring infinite answering to variations of "What if?"

"What if someone threw our mailbox in the middle of the ocean?"  (We would have to ride in a boat to check our mail.)  "Or the mailman could swim out and bring it back for us."

"What if a snake came and ate me and I had to pee?" (I guess you'd have to go in the snake.) "Or I could karate chop it in half and step out of it."

"What if blue was really yellow?"  (Then the sky would look really different, wouldn't it?) "Hee, hee, the sky would be yellow."

"What if we didn't have any water at our house?"  (We would get thirsty and dirty.)  "Does Grandma have water at her house?"

I look forward to driving in the car, as I never know what question will come next.  He mixes in matter of fact statements with the questions.  "When I grow up I will be a monster, or else Darth Vader."  The philosophical stage of 3-5 year-old children is really one of my favorites.  I love seeing how their mind works and watching them begin to understand the world around them.

It is nice relief for the other questions I get each day.

"Mom, why does everyone else on the bus get a cell phone?"  (Because you don't need to spend your life texting.  Anyway, you'll appreciate it more when you've earned the money for it yourself.)

"Mom, want to know how I did on my health quiz about the human reproductive symptom?"  (Was it any different from what we talked about?  I hope you didn't mislabel anything!)

"Honey, have you started the taxes/dinner/laundry yet?" (No, I'm hoping if I ignore all three long enough they will all go away.)

As Matthew has grown through the phases of childhood, I have relished finishing that stage of parenting.  But I think this one I'm going to miss.  Joseph, as a seasoned, all-knowing kindergartner is already outgrowing it.  I'm trying to enjoy the short years I have left with a preschooler as much as possible.  He is really making it easy to do!


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 This post is in part brought to you by an award I received from Amber at Making the Moments Count.  It is the Lemonade Stand Award for showing an attitude for gratitude.  Thanks Amber!  I have one more award I want to talk about and will be sharing some blogs with it, so keep tuned in.

16 comments:

  1. Such a sweet time of life!!! I love his questions. Good thing you are writing them all down!

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  2. Matthew is at such a cute age and he is such a cute kids. I enjoyed every minute that you and your kids were here. Wish we could see them more often.

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  3. haha! The one about Grandma made me laugh out loud!! So that's why... :-)
    I need to be better about recording the funny stuff Addie says and does. It won't be long before she's asking for cell phones!

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  4. What a sweet boy! It made me smile. Oh and good job holding out on cell phones ... sheesh it makes me crazy to see kids already addicted to phones.

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  5. Great post. I love experiencing all of the new stages with my son, and I'm always a little sad to see him out grow (most) of them. I can't wait until he gets to this stage.

    Oh, and congrats on the award!

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  6. I am a special ed teacher, and some kids ask that "what if" question ad nauseum. Seriously, I tried to extinguish it by talking about other things, but they are relentless!

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  7. I LOVE those questions and they do make me miss that cute little stage, but they also make you work hard, don't they? You have to think of logical answers to illogical questions!

    And what's more annoying that a busload of kids all texting? Ugh. I like my son being able to keep in contact with me but to ignore the human beings around him in favor of electronics? Definite pet peeve!

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  8. What a sweet heart! Loved the questions and answers. Hold fast to not doing laundry.

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  9. Sounds like he is talking so much! I can't wait to see him again. What a funny boy. Loved the mixed up statements and questions. :)

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  10. This post remind me of one of my children's favorite books - Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse. You've got to check it out! (Ok, that all sounds very spam-like. I promise I am not the author, nor am I related to the author, nor do I receive any royalties for this endorsement)

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  11. He seems to have inherited your sense of humor. : )

    Savoring those moments is truly what its all about, isn't it?

    I keep thinking that if I ignore the dishes they will clean themselves. It hasn't worked yet. I am a little bit ticked off.

    And those are my thoughts for the day. : )

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  12. Love this post! This is one of my favorite things about having kids. Their innocence and imaginations are wonderful, and remind me not to take life so seriously all the time. Your writing makes it even better.

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  13. I know just how you feel! My 3 1/2 year old is starting to have the most amazing conversations with us. I cannot believe the joy it brings me to be able to discuss things with him and to explore how his mind works.

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  14. Hi Charlotte. I followed a link from another blog to find you. Guess what made me curious. You have a very interesting blog. I've enjoyed my visit here. I have 5 blogs. Started out with one about 2 years ago and couldn't seem to stop. lol
    Have a wonderful week.
    Charlotte

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  15. Man, stuff like this seems so far away for me since I just have a 2 and 1 year old, but I'm sure they will both be chatting my ear off before long! That's really cute the stuff he says.
    PS You get an award on my blog for being so awesome! : )

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