Jack, now a newly minted eight year old, regularly surprises me with his knowledge. A week or two ago he shared facts about Abraham Lincoln that I would have to look to wikipedia to verify - and he just knew these things. Remarkable. He has also learned to think. I mean actually think, construct opinions and arguments and communicate them pretty clearly and sometimes quite emphatically. While sometimes I rue the day that this whole thinking thing started, on most days I am so proud of the person he is becoming. Monday, however, was not a day to herald his intelligence, but rather to giggle playfully.
As we were driving to snowboard camp (sidenote: this is what you do when you {somewhat begrudgingly} live in New England. You bundle your child up and send him to a place where he can become frost-bitten or fall off of a ski lift all in the name of keeping him active during school vacation and giving him a love for the only thing to do outdoors during winters here), Jack started talking about a bear that a person had on TV. A real bear. But not a big bear, and not a panda bear, but a little bear, a "bear-mouse". Me: he is only eight and does not know what drugs are. The conversation went something like this:
Jack: So the guy had one of those little bears. Not a panda. More of a bear-mouse.
Me: A what?
J: A bear-mouse. Or a mouse-bear. Got it?
M: No. Most definitely no. I don't know what that is.
J: Yes you do. They're like a bear, but they're not a bear. They're like a mouse.
M: That isn't easily possible to be both like a bear and like a mouse, little man.
J: Yes. It is... it's like a bear, but not big.
M: Is it a gerbil or something like that?
J: No. It's big.
M: Wait. You just said it's not big. Is it medium like a raccoon or something like that?
J: No. It's a bear. But small.
M: Um. You just said it's big. Is it big or small?
J: It's not big like a panda, but it's not small like a gerbil either.
M: OK. So is it a guinea pig?
J: No! I told you, it's big.
M: No, you told me it's small. Then you said it's big. And you said it's a bear, which is big, then said it's a mouse, which is small. So I don't know what to think.
J: You know what it is. You saw one!
M: Is it a red panda? Which isn't a panda at all, but a member of the raccoon family?
J: I told you that it's not a raccoon. It's a BEAR.
M: Yes. But you also said it's a MOUSE.
J: Yes, it's like a mouse, but it's a bear.
M: (too quietly to be heard by an eight year old... "9:45 is too early for vodka... unless I have tomato juice and bloody mary mix")
J: What?
M: Nothing. I'm just thinking out loud... buddy, can you please give me any other hints here? I really feel like I'm not getting it. What makes you think that this animal is a bear?
J: I don't know. I just know it is.
M: Buddy, is it a koala bear?
J: Yes! And it's an herbivorous marsupial indigenous to Australia.
M: Dude. You can remember herbivorous marsupial but you can't remember the word koala bear?
As we were driving to snowboard camp (sidenote: this is what you do when you {somewhat begrudgingly} live in New England. You bundle your child up and send him to a place where he can become frost-bitten or fall off of a ski lift all in the name of keeping him active during school vacation and giving him a love for the only thing to do outdoors during winters here), Jack started talking about a bear that a person had on TV. A real bear. But not a big bear, and not a panda bear, but a little bear, a "bear-mouse". Me: he is only eight and does not know what drugs are. The conversation went something like this:
Jack: So the guy had one of those little bears. Not a panda. More of a bear-mouse.
Me: A what?
J: A bear-mouse. Or a mouse-bear. Got it?
M: No. Most definitely no. I don't know what that is.
J: Yes you do. They're like a bear, but they're not a bear. They're like a mouse.
M: That isn't easily possible to be both like a bear and like a mouse, little man.
J: Yes. It is... it's like a bear, but not big.
M: Is it a gerbil or something like that?
J: No. It's big.
M: Wait. You just said it's not big. Is it medium like a raccoon or something like that?
J: No. It's a bear. But small.
M: Um. You just said it's big. Is it big or small?
J: It's not big like a panda, but it's not small like a gerbil either.
M: OK. So is it a guinea pig?
J: No! I told you, it's big.
M: No, you told me it's small. Then you said it's big. And you said it's a bear, which is big, then said it's a mouse, which is small. So I don't know what to think.
J: You know what it is. You saw one!
M: Is it a red panda? Which isn't a panda at all, but a member of the raccoon family?
J: I told you that it's not a raccoon. It's a BEAR.
M: Yes. But you also said it's a MOUSE.
J: Yes, it's like a mouse, but it's a bear.
M: (too quietly to be heard by an eight year old... "9:45 is too early for vodka... unless I have tomato juice and bloody mary mix")
J: What?
M: Nothing. I'm just thinking out loud... buddy, can you please give me any other hints here? I really feel like I'm not getting it. What makes you think that this animal is a bear?
J: I don't know. I just know it is.
M: Buddy, is it a koala bear?
J: Yes! And it's an herbivorous marsupial indigenous to Australia.
M: Dude. You can remember herbivorous marsupial but you can't remember the word koala bear?
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