Knowledge is power and our school districts try to arm our children at a young age…
Anti-drug campaigns are introduced, at such a young age, to our children. The brainwashing (which, I completely approve of) began in pre-school for my youngest.
We never talk much about drugs at home. Aside from the occasional threat of death from me. The kids do sometimes tell me about kids that smoke pot or do some of the new, manufactured drugs of choice. They inform me in such a disgusted way though that makes me think, at least at this point, that I can keep my head in the sand. They find drugs to be disgusting. They find drinking to be vile.
My big kids took what they learned and what they’ve noticed and made their own decisions. So far, so good. (Also, they completely know that the dialogue is ALWAYS open in our home, about ANY. THING!)
I’m so proud. *cheers* *hic*
My youngest though. He questions everything. He can’t just accept it when I tell him that G-D painted the grass green and the clouds blue with his new magic markers. He can’t fall asleep knowing that things are the way they are because of the way it is. He can’t come down the stairs in the morning silent and fresh from sleep.
His days are spent CONSTANTLY asking questions. And answering his own. Then asking if his answers are right.
The kid? Kills me. And exhausts me. But he’s cute so I’ll keep him.
This morning was no exception, of course.
Our neighbors have a 22 year old son that my little guy has adopted as his biggest brother. He just loves hanging out with him and I’m pretty sure, by how often we see this kid, it’s mutual.
But…
Our next-door-neighbor kid? He smokes. I’ve told him not to smoke around my kids and I’m hoping that he respects my wish. When he comes over our house to hang out and play video games with my kids, I always ask him to air out before him comes in. Smoke smells nasty, even coming from me, a VERY EX-smoker.
So, this morning…
8:15am. After being awakened by the cat PEEING in his bed which made him wake me up with his SCREAMING…
and, after I stripped his cat urine infested bed and threw it all in the washer, with bleach…
and after I threw the cat, by her scruff, into the basement followed by threats of euthanasia or the pound…
and after my son saw our neighbor sitting on his front porch, smoking a cigarette and begged me to let him go over there…
and after a small and short tantrum because I refused…
we sat on our stairs.
Because…he needed to begin his morning interrogation. He had “stuff” that was on his mind…
Him: Mommy? What EXACTLY are cigarettes? And Mommy? Why do people smoke them?
Me: They are kind of like a drug, like you learned in school. And people, even though they are gross and disgusting and SO BAD FOR YOU and will kill you…still smoke them.
Him: Mommy? A drug like grass and weed? Like, what’s in our front yard. (Unblinking)
Me: (trying to stay as serious as he is) Um…yeah. Yes. Sure. Kinda. I suppose. Only, cigarettes are legal.
Him: Mommy, are grass and weed really from the ground?
Me: Yes. (because they are, right?)
Him: Mommy(he’s horrified)…I’ve eaten grass. And Mommy (he whispers), I’ve touched weed then.
Me: *face/palm* I need coffee…
Yeah, so…if knowledge really is king, my son is definitely a serf. (Which will completely ruin my kingdom stories, if I ever write those again.)
You have your hands full with that one. He’s touched ‘weed’ – that was priceless.
Tara R.´s last blog post ..Weekly Winners 2010 retrospective
At least he is thinking, even if he is a little literal.
Another Suburban Mom´s last blog post ..Post Holiday Brain Dump!
Oh my! What questions to wake up too!
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Oi, what hectic questions to answer early in the morning. LOL!!
Jenty´s last blog post ..Early sleep early rise for Christmas
I don’t envy you. I dread when I really have to have the talk. I have kinda broached it just like the sex talk but nothing with depth, yet.
Cheryl Pope´s last blog post ..My Favorite Things
Sweet boy. The innocence of youth. But it does sound like he is learning something.
Jennifer´s last blog post ..Merry Christmas
Lady, we need a play date. My 3-year-old son was telling his pre-school teacher about the baby growing in mommy’s uterus that would be coming out of my badinah. He’s now 7 and is an expert on artificial insemination, thanks to his friend with 2 mommies…
So glad I found your blog!
Lori
My 4 year old daughter sounds like your son. And she, too, is obsessed with cigarettes! It drives me crazy because I quit smoking a gazillion years before my kids came along, and none of our friends smoke either. Yet, I often hear her “playing” and talking to her babies about cigarettes. I look at it from a different perspective, though. Call me naive or delusional but I like to think that she will be smarter than the other kids. She doesn’t do things just because people say so (which leads to lots of spankings). She’s her own, independent thinker. She has to know “why” about everything. She questions every.freakin’.thing! In my little world, that makes her less likely to be a follower of her peers. My son, on the other hand, will drink the poisoned Kool-Aid just for kicks.
totally unrelated, but you should take your cat to the vet to check for urinary tract infection. My cat was peeing on my daughter”s bed, and I thought she was just being ornery, but it turned out she had a UTI. A few days on amoxicillan and she was back to her normal self, no peeing anywhere but the litter pan.