Lexi is very inquisitive, and tends to prompt conversations that most three year olds would have absolutely no interest in. Often during these conversations she falls silent and I assume that I've lost her and she's daydreaming about something else...but more often than not, her pause is followed by a comment that demonstrates profound understanding for what I've explained. This often leads me to become a bumbling fool, trying to keep up with my three year old daughter's analysis. Two recent examples...
Killing In Self DefenseThere is a pit bull in the house across the street. These neighbors send their young son out to walk the dog, and I have watched many times as the pit bull drags the young boy around the yard while he tries desperately to get the dog to go where he is supposed to go. Generally, when I see the dog come out, I take the kids inside, as they are usually only out for five minutes at a time. A few weeks ago Lexi, Zach and I were outside and I saw the dog come out with the boy. I calmly asked Lexi to please go inside with me for five minutes, which she did. When we got inside she asked why we had to go in so I told her that there was a mean dog across the street who usually stays in his own yard, but that we need to come in while he is out. We may have chit-chatted more about it, but it was brief and we went right back outside. About a week later we had a squirrel die in our yard (this is a VERY long story, but we did find out that this one died of natural causes). Lexi and I were on our way to the store and I was saying how sad it was that the squirrel was dying. She asked why it was sad and I went on to explain that it's always sad when people or animals die, blah, blah, blah...silence in the backseat. Then she says, "Well, except for the mean dog across the street, right mama? It wouldn't be bad if he died, right?" "Well", I replied, " Even though we don't like the dog across the street, he really has never done anything to hurt us, so we wouldn't even want him to die, even though he is mean"...silence again...and then, "Well, at the end of Sleeping Beauty, the Prince kills the mean fairy godmother, and that was good, right mama?" Oh boy...am I about to have to explain killing in self defense to my three year old? Yes, yes I am. "Well Lexi, that's right. But the fairy godmother was trying to hurt the prince, and while he was defending himself he killed her. So that was okay. It's only okay to kill someone or something if they are trying to kill you. So, if the mean dog tried to attack us, and we had to kill him to save ourselves, that would be okay." Luckily that was a sufficient explanation, but I can't wait until the day that her preschool teacher asks me why Lexi was talking about killing people in self defense at school...
Gender RolesThis weekend, Grampy and Poppy both came over to help Ahren rebuild the front steps that were quite rotten and in need of being replaced. Poppy had arrived on Sunday while Lexi was napping, so when she woke up I said, "Guess who is downstairs helping Daddy??" She guessed correctly and said, "Well, I knew that Gigi wouldn't be helping Daddy build the stairs because Gigi couldn't build stairs!" So, I dive right into an explanation of gender roles... "When two people get married they talk about it and decide who is going to be in charge of which jobs around the house. Then those become the jobs that the man and woman tend to do. When Gigi and Poppy and Mommy and Daddy got married, Mommy and Gigi chose to do things like cook clean and do laundry, and Daddy and Poppy chose to do things like take out the trash and build things. So, while a woman *can* do things like build stairs, take out the garbage, do the grilling, etc. she doesn't have to because the man does it. And at the same time, a man *could* do the laundry, cook dinner and clean the house, but he doesn't have to because the woman does it. The only things in the whole world that a man cannot do that a woman can is nurse a baby, or carry a baby in their belly." Proud of myself for giving an as politically correct answer as possible I was floored when Lexi replied, "Well, except for the male seahorse, Mama. The male seahorse carries the babies in his belly..." Outsmarted by my three year old again!
I have to say, I really do enjoy this age. Lexi has such amazing insight into so many different things, and I simply love listening to her perspective on life. There is one thing I know for sure, this girl hears everything that is said around her, and even though she sometimes seems like she's not paying attention, she most definitely is. She is the quietest when she is doing the most thinking.
