Monday, August 30, 2010

Well, I asked

Lately, I've been forgetting that Sam is getting really smart and starting to think about things in a different way--but that way is not the adult way. So sometimes I ask her questions that are really dumb, like "what are you doing?" and she'll look at me like I'm an idiot and say "I'm running around with dis hanger scatting (scratching) things."
Clearly, I could see that she was running around the house with a hanger scratching things. I could also see that she was "making a big mess," "wiping dis booger on da wall," "rolling on the floor," "throwing dis toy," and about a thousand other bizarre things she does on a daily basis. Which means I probably should have asked "Why are you doing that?" instead of "what are you doing?" It's a lesson I continue to learn the hard way every day. I can hardly blame her for answering my question so literally, though. The look on her face when I ask seems to say, "Geez, Mom, you ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer."
Sometimes, however, she answers a question in a way I never expected that shows she is thinking about things but still doesn't actually understand how things work. Take today. While I got out of the shower and was getting ready Sam asked "where we going today?" It's been a very busy last couple of weeks, and every day she's gotten dragged to at least one long appointment.
I looked at her and said "You know what? We don't have anywhere we have to be! No appointments on our schedule! So, we can do whatever we want. Is there somewhere you would like to go today?"
Sam looked at me with a huge grin and yelled "Yeah! I want to go to UTAH! Let's go."
Huh, I didn't see that coming at all.
So now, instead of a super fun day where she got to pick the destination, she is very disappointed and upset that we can't drive 12 hours to visit her "Mack and G" in Utah. Welcome to parenthood: "disappointing children through our best intentions for thousands of years."
Moral of the story: I shouldn't have asked.

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