The Things We Say

About five minutes ago after having stared at the Discovery Toys catalog longingly for over an hour, Louis came out of the back of the house carrying a big box of MEGABLOX. He announces he wants to build things. I say "Oh lord, Lou, Mommy doesn't want to pick all those up tonight....do you have to play with those?" at which point he sits down hard on the ground, big tears streaming down his face and says "I'm losing my mind." It took me a minute...and then I figured it out.

When he's crying and sobbing about stuff that makes no sense (to anyone except a three year old), I turn into my mother and say "Have you lost your MIND? Are you crying about THIS?" My mother is a very practical mother, and I don't mean this in a
bad way at all. My mom just wants you to make sense. And she doesn't assume that just because you are only 3 that you can't make sense and use reason.

So as I look at him, not actually throwing a fit but very sad that I'm not willing to be inconvenieced by this many pieced toy......I feel overcome with guilt. I have no good reason not to let him play other than it's 9:30 at night. So I said "Did you just say that you are losing your mind?" Which he confirmed. At that point what could I say but "Hey, why don't you play with your blocks after all?"

As we speak he tells me he is building the Great Wall of China.
And yes, he's 3.