Parental Anecdotes

[pyat]

There is a boy in Elizabeth's class named Shane. Shane can turn into a vampire at night. He told Elizabeth this. I suggested he might be joking. She denied this possibility.

Elizabeth: "Magic is real you know, dad."
Me: "Really? Well, still, sometimes people like to say things like that as a joke."
Elizabeth: "No, he's really a vampire. The Halloween Fairy comes and change him, I think."
Me: "Did he say that?"
Elizabeth: "No, but that's how it happens, I think. The Halloween Fairy comes and changes him, and gives him a magic harmonica, and says, 'When you want to be a boy again, play on this, and I shall come for you.'"
Me: "How can a vampire play a harmonica?"
Elizabeth: "It has two holes for his teeth."

Later in the day, I converted Claire's crib (formerly Elizabeth's crib) into a bed (formerly Elizabeth's bed). This involved moving the mattress down and removing one side of the bed. When this was complete, I called her upstairs to see her "big girl bed."

She walked in, looked at it, and started crying. "Oh no! My bed is BROKEN!" She recovered fairly quickly, and is pleased with the novelty now. However, even I was tucking her in for the night, she kept telling me that her bed was broken.

Also, I admit to being... hmm... not teary... but definitely wistful at the realization that we no longer have any infants. We have two little girls.

Comments

[heron61.livejournal.com]

While I'm mildly child-phobic, reading such notes from people who seem like truly excellent parents makes me happy.

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

What are the symptoms of mild pedophobia?

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Generally a desire to avoid direct interaction with children, especially young children. Essentially, it's a slightly magnified version of my social phobia with strangers, with the added problem that children don't cease being "strangers" though longer contact.

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

That seems like an odd statement. What prevents you from getting used to them?

[heron61.livejournal.com]

A total inability to understand how they think or how to interact with them. This is worst with children under about 7 or 8 and vanishes utterly by the time they are 15 or 16 (at which point, I deal with them as easily as with adults).

[kisekileia.livejournal.com]

YES. I totally get this. I'm getting more comfortable interacting with kids because I work at a toy store, and I'm motivated to do so because I want to have kids someday and because I believe the welfare of children is really, really important. But I didn't understand kids when I was one, so I don't really understand them now.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Do you have the same issue with various pets?

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Not in the least. I have several cats and get along well with the species as a whole - I also do moderately well with dogs.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sir. :)

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

Getting ready to do the same with the crib to bed that Eldest, Bear, and now Sparky uses.

A says I should sell it, as her mom is buying her a regular bed. I'm keeping it in case I have another. You never know. :)

[pyat.livejournal.com]

We're taking ours to the dump once Claire gets a "real" bed, I suspect. It survived Elizabeth all right, but Claire really really really likes jumping. And tearing things from other things.

[lovmelovmycats.livejournal.com]

Aww, so cute. I'm glad my Lizzie didn't mind her crib being turned into a toddler bed. But then she took to sleeping in the queen-sized guest bed (my fault, really. I took to nursing her to sleep in it, since I don't fit in the toddler bed).

[pyat.livejournal.com]

If Claire were allowed, she'd sleep in our bed most nights, I'm sure. When we read stories to her there, she crawls under the blankets and pretends to fall asleep.

[slwatson.livejournal.com]

Me: "How can a vampire play a harmonica?"
Elizabeth: "It has two holes for his teeth."

Totally awesome exchange.

[taluagel.livejournal.com]

2 little girls soon to be two little vampires from the sounds of that Shane fellow

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Okay, that all falls into the realm of TDC. :)

[relee.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's so sweet! And goodness but your Elizabeth has some interesting classmates. That's like a page from a fairy-tale.

[thebitterguy]

This is what happens when you read to the girls from the Twilight books every night.

[bandersnitch.livejournal.com]

I think you should write a roleplaying game where your character MUST be from the mad ramblings of your child.

You can play the Magic Harmonica Playing Vampire boy and I will play the Pigmy Ninja Cage Fighter from the Sewer who has a Servant who thinks he is my master.

The wonderful world of a child's imagination!