Horror Story
Occasionally when my seven year-old and I are playing, I like to sneak around the corner and hide. When he comes looking for me I jump out and scare him. He screams, I scream and it’s fun.
Azul was reminiscing, telling a story about me, his sweet innocent loving mother, being scary (that’s really more like it). Using his advanced vocabulary he chose the most frightening word he could use. “Horror” was how he described me.
“Mommy, you’re a whore!” Of course my first instinct was a terror, did I really hear what I thought I heard, and then laughter, because really, denial never works.
I did like his word choice, so I countered as clearly as I could, emphasizing the two Rs.
“It’s hor-ror.”
“I know, whore.”
The horror story was in full-effect, both of us giggling through wide eyes. Azul doesn’t know why, so he repeats himself for being rewarded with laughter.
“Whore.”
“It’s horror.”
“I know! You’re a whore.”
Him scaring me was just as fun as me scaring him.
Ice, Ice, Baby
One of the best elements of being a parent is … experiments! Testing and investigating, if and how things work with the curiosity of a child is like reliving your own innocence. Of course, some work better than others, and when they fail, there is only one certain reaction.
Wonder Land
“Every year of life is so cool!” I heard my almost eight year-old say. I looked up from the cutting board and dinner prep I was working on and saw Azul lying on the couch with the computer. This scene has been played out before, with me cooking and him keeping me company, while also in his own world, doing his own thing. There are so many times I just watch him and wonder what’s going on in his head, asking myself, “What is he thinking about?”
Occasionally he gives me a peek inside and I feel like Alice in a land of awe and wonder, instinctively wanting to investigate and discover all that I can. Many times his conversations have to do with a new computer game and sometimes he shares his perceptions of the world around him.
I asked, “What is Every Year of Life?” I though it was a new Sims or Minecraft server.
“You know, like, living. It’s so cool!”
I started my journey down the rabbit hole as he continued.
“Every year I get bigger and I get to do more things and things change. Like, I was in preschool and at a different school and now I’m not there. And now at Prep I’m not in the Tiny Tots anymore, I’m with the big kids. It’s just so cool. I get to do new things.”
I stood there grinning like a Cheshire cat. After all Azul is right, every year of life is cool. Sometimes we just need to be awakened by the philosophical mind of a child.
Carmelina Hart 