*********
Tonight E was very tired, but not ready for sleeping. So we got up and headed into the kitchen for a snack, since she had skipped dinner. We decided to have some toast and she said, "This is also the bread we use for French toast. What is French?"
So we talked about the French language, and how it originated in France, then discussed Spanish & Spain, and English and England. "The United States doesn't have a United States' language, " I said. "We speak English and Spanish and French and other languages here because people from all of those countries came to the United States."
And then she asked, "How did the dinosaurs get here?" (Turns out they were reading a book in school today about a dinosaur that went to school.)
"Well," and that's how I start most of my responses to E's questions, "You know, E, I'm not really sure. That might be something we could learn about. Some people believe that somebody made them. You know, God." Pause. Waiting for her to ask about THAT. Nothing.
"And some people, like scientists, believe that they came from animals (yes, I know I mis-spoke here) before them; animals that were kind of like them, but different, too."
Furrowed brows (Mine and hers).
So, after that light-hearted chat at 9:00 pm, we headed back to the bedroom for her to go to sleep. We decided to say good night to different parts of her body, a ritual her Dad created some time ago. I usually start with this, "Good night to E's toes. It's sleeping time. See you in the morning."
Now, E is a stickler for details, as you know, and invariably I always forget a body part. At the end, now, I say, "And good night to any part of E's body that we might have forgotten."
Tonight, she ended with this:
"MOM. You forgot to say goodnight to that special skin on my head that the hair grows out of."
"Um. Right. Goodnight to E's SCALP. It's sleeping time. See you in the morning."
Good lord.
