Saturday, October 22, 2011

Stay Off the Streets. And the Sidewalks.

I bring to you a recent dialogue with the older child.

Betsy:  (Out of the blue)  Mom, how do the police know if you're a kid?

Me:  I don't know.  Can you tell the difference between kids and grown-ups?

Betsy: Yeah.

Me:  So, that's probably how they can tell.  (Pause)  Why do you ask?

Betsy:  Like if you're driving a car, how could they tell if you're a kid.

Me:  Oh.  Well (a long explanation about how you need a LICENSE and how you have to be AT LEAST sixteen years old and how kids ABSOLUTELY should not be driving cars as they will be caught immediately).

Betsy:  (Disappointed)  Okay.


And then a snippet from another conversation, about going to school.

Betsy:  But I have to go to school, so I can learn how to be what I want to be when I grow up.

Me:  That's right.

Betsy:  (Pause)  But I could almost be a police.  (Pause)  I just have to learn how to drive a car more correctly.

Yes, now that she has mastered riding a bike (and by "mastered" I mean "uses the brakes instead of dragging her shoes some of the time") she is apparently contemplating moving on to other forms of transportation.

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