Questions, Questions, Questions

Samuel received an amazing book for his birthday this past March called The Children’s Planet Earth Encyclopedia by Jen Green. It has colorful and interesting pictures and extensive, but kid friendly, information about this fantastic sphere we’re all spinning on. Reading about how volatile our planet is with phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes and weather patterns coupled with the weeks of rain and flooding we’ve endured have raised a lot of questions from two curious minds. Samuel and Ethan have really taken to this book for stories and I love it because I delight in learning new things as well, being reminded of other topics, and linking ideas together.

However, there was a time when we would read to the boys and they would take it at face value. Now they ask a million questions, challenge our thought processes, and give us lots of chuckles. After one night of reading about Mt. Saint Helens and famous earthquakes around the world our conversation went something like this:

Samuel: Mommy, when the earth shakes does the ground open up?
Me: Well sometimes. Are you thinking of the picture in the book with the big hole in it?
Samuel: Yes. And on the Land Before Time, Littlefoot’s mommy gets hurt in the earthquake after the BIG fight with the T-Rex. Do earthquakes make big holes like that? (Here he looks at the window with a bit of fear in his eyes). Is there going to be an earthquake here and the ground will open up?
Ethan: Is it going to be a BIG hole?
Me: No, there isn’t going to be an earthquake here. (Note to reader – I had to look up South Dakota Earthquake History from the USGS to make sure I wasn't lying.)  We don’t seem to have earthquake problems here. We have tornado problems and volcano problems.
Samuel: Tornado problems? Are we going to be sucked into a tornado? That would be really cool!
Ethan: A big tornado! Yeah, that be weally (really, Ethan speak) cool! Are we going to see hot, hot lafa (lava, Ethan speak)?
Me: No we are not going to have an earthquake, and it would be very bad to be sucked into a tornado. The only volcano we’re really worried about is Yellowstone, and if it blows, we’ll only see ash, lots of it.
Samuel: Where are earthquakes going to happen where the earthquakes open the ground up?
Me: California.
Samuel: Where Mickey Mouse Lives?

Oh no. I see where this conversation is going! Now I have to put myself in a four-year-old’s mind and consider the absolute catastrophe it would be if Mickey Mouse fell into the ocean. This conversation turns into a discussion about how Mickey Mouse is not really REAL, but rather a character which means he’s pretend, or fictional. Boy did that open up a can of worms.

Samuel: Mommy, is Tyrannosaurus Rex real?
Me: He was real, but now he’s dead. All dinosaurs are dead and fossilized.
Samuel: So he’s not real anymore?
Me: Well his bones are real, but he doesn’t live anymore.
Ethan: Is Manny real?
Me: Manny is a character in a movie. So he’s not real. But wooly mammoths were real and they are all dead too.
Ethan: But el-ah-pants (elephants, Ethan speak) are not dead.
Me: No elephants are real, and they are not dead.
Samuel: Is Spiderman real?
Me: No, Spiderman is not real.
Samuel: But he’s a man. A man is real.
Me: Yes, he is man, but he’s a made up man or a character.

The real versus fictional questions arise at least once a day now.

Additionally, not only have the questions started about this fascinating world around them, so have the complicated analyses. Previously, when I would “negotiate” with Samuel it was really one of us saying something along the lines of, “Eat your dinner or no treats later.” No other choices. Now “negotiation” is starting to mean that Samuel thinks through problems and comes up with solutions. Ethan’s a little behind him, and mostly parrots Samuel, but he’s not far behind.

Here is this morning’s conversation between Samuel and me. Before this conversation took place, Peter had been up and down with the babies until 2 am and I had essentially been up since 2:45 am. The ladies still have infections and we are visiting the doctor again on Tuesday. Around 4:15 am I finally had both babies down and it appeared they might stay for a bit. I snuggle into the couch. 4:30 am Samuel is leaning over me and says, “Mommy, I have a bloody nose.” Drip, drip, drip.

Me: Ughh. Okay, I’m getting up. Hold your head back, don’t drip anymore. Go to the bathroom.
Samuel: Okay. The babies are noisy tonight.
Me: Yes, they are. (Ya think?)

We fix the bloody nose.

Me: Go back to bed, it’s too early to be up. Take this tissue in case it starts again.
Samuel: Okay. Good night, mommy. I love you, mommy.
Me: Good night, Samuel.  I love you too.

Samuel climbs up his bunk, I return to the couch and snuggle under again. I feel the fog closing in and then I hear an electronic “rrraaarrrr…” I think – hmmm, Samuel must have rolled over on Spinosaurus. “Rrrrrarrrr…” Okay…twice?? I climb off the couch again. “Rrrararrr…”

Me: Samuel, it is 4:30 in the morning. You have to put Spinosaurus away.
Samuel: But why?
Me: Because it is early, you should be sleeping, and you’ll wake everyone else up (thinking, please, please don’t wake up babies). You can’t play with it. Give it to me.
Samuel: Okay.
Me: Now go back to sleep. It’s too early to be awake.
Samuel: But the birds are awake…

And sure enough…cheep, cheep, cheep, tweet, tweet. They were.