I've heard many fine stories and insights from my children by eavesdropping on their backseat of the car conversations. Two oldies but goodies that stick in my head were about death and birth.
The conversation about death came about when Maddie was 4 and Ben was 3, and I was just marveling at the fact that they were having an actual conversation, a real talk that wasn't about the toy she wanted that he had, or about the snack she was eating that he licked so she would give it to him (oh yes, that happened). We were headed to my mom's house, because mom had just called because she had found their cat dead on the floor, and she was too upset to do anything with him until Dad came home. Unable to let my mom step over the dead cat all day, I explained to the kids that Moxie had died and then I drove to Grandma's to take care of the matter. I can't remember the exact words or even the outcome of the conversation, but the gist of it was that cats go to heaven to be with Jesus, but they go to their own heaven with lots of mice and cat treats and no dogs. They discussed this among each other, with no input from me, and I remember being astounded that I had two little, thinking people back there, not just the babies they are to me.
The birth conversation happened within the last year or so, when Maddie heard that Jamie Lynn Spears (who Maddie refers to as Zoey 101) was pregnant.
Maddie offered, "Hey mom, did you hear Zoey 101 is pregnant?"
"What's pregnant?" said Ben.
"She's going to have a BABY! And she isn't MARRIED! I thought you had to be married to have a baby!" (Of course at this point I'm frantically trying to come up with a little talk to have with my 8 year old daughter that was also appropriate for the 3 and 6 year old boys to hear...)
"Yeah!" Ben yelled. "That's right! You have to be married!"
"Umm, well, you know..." I began.
"Hey! Mary wasn't married when she was pregnant with baby Jesus. Maybe Zoey 101 is going to have a holy baby too!"
At this point I did offer some input (basically that Zoey 101 was not the mother of the next future saviour and that she IS awfully young to be having a baby, isn't she? And Oh My Gosh, is that cow trying to climb a tree over there???) Yeah, I'm not proud of my response.
Most recently, the conversation back there was funny. We were heading somewhere, and Ben was singing a Guitar Hero song, his favorite, for about the millionth time. Jack couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Ben! Stop singing that song!" So Ben sang louder. "STOP!!!" Louder. This went on until Maddie suggested that Jack ignore Ben. "Sometimes the best thing you can do is ignore a person, because then they will think you don't care, and they will stop," she said (so she HAS been listening to me!)
Jack thought about this for a minute then said, "Maddie, will YOU manure Ben for me?"
Okay, it was probably funnier in person, but I love the thought of Maddie throwing manure at Ben as Jack stood by, vengefully wringing his hands, muttering, "That'll teach you to sing around me..."
The conversation about death came about when Maddie was 4 and Ben was 3, and I was just marveling at the fact that they were having an actual conversation, a real talk that wasn't about the toy she wanted that he had, or about the snack she was eating that he licked so she would give it to him (oh yes, that happened). We were headed to my mom's house, because mom had just called because she had found their cat dead on the floor, and she was too upset to do anything with him until Dad came home. Unable to let my mom step over the dead cat all day, I explained to the kids that Moxie had died and then I drove to Grandma's to take care of the matter. I can't remember the exact words or even the outcome of the conversation, but the gist of it was that cats go to heaven to be with Jesus, but they go to their own heaven with lots of mice and cat treats and no dogs. They discussed this among each other, with no input from me, and I remember being astounded that I had two little, thinking people back there, not just the babies they are to me.
The birth conversation happened within the last year or so, when Maddie heard that Jamie Lynn Spears (who Maddie refers to as Zoey 101) was pregnant.
Maddie offered, "Hey mom, did you hear Zoey 101 is pregnant?"
"What's pregnant?" said Ben.
"She's going to have a BABY! And she isn't MARRIED! I thought you had to be married to have a baby!" (Of course at this point I'm frantically trying to come up with a little talk to have with my 8 year old daughter that was also appropriate for the 3 and 6 year old boys to hear...)
"Yeah!" Ben yelled. "That's right! You have to be married!"
"Umm, well, you know..." I began.
"Hey! Mary wasn't married when she was pregnant with baby Jesus. Maybe Zoey 101 is going to have a holy baby too!"
At this point I did offer some input (basically that Zoey 101 was not the mother of the next future saviour and that she IS awfully young to be having a baby, isn't she? And Oh My Gosh, is that cow trying to climb a tree over there???) Yeah, I'm not proud of my response.
Most recently, the conversation back there was funny. We were heading somewhere, and Ben was singing a Guitar Hero song, his favorite, for about the millionth time. Jack couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Ben! Stop singing that song!" So Ben sang louder. "STOP!!!" Louder. This went on until Maddie suggested that Jack ignore Ben. "Sometimes the best thing you can do is ignore a person, because then they will think you don't care, and they will stop," she said (so she HAS been listening to me!)
Jack thought about this for a minute then said, "Maddie, will YOU manure Ben for me?"
Okay, it was probably funnier in person, but I love the thought of Maddie throwing manure at Ben as Jack stood by, vengefully wringing his hands, muttering, "That'll teach you to sing around me..."
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