Big Ears

Now that Chloe has reached the "why?" stage in her life, there's usually not a day that goes by that we don't have at least 20 conversations that involve her asking one, if not all, of these questions, "why, how, why not, how come,"--and my all time favorite, "are you sure mom?"! I try my best to stay patient throughout these conversations, but after about 20 minutes of trying to explain why you can make a right turn on a RED light (because you know that red means stop!), I usually end the conversation with one of these statements, "just trust me on that" or "that's the rules" or my personal favorite, "we should ask your dad that when he gets home!" Let's face it, I don't know all the rules of traffic, how can I be expected to explain them to a 3 year old?!? Anyway, I thought I'd share one of our most recent "why/how" chats. This one was surprisingly short, and it took place a week ago on the way to Chloe's doctors office. Yes, she officially has the "crud"--don't you just love paying the co-pay to hear that brilliant diagnosis! But, hey, the cough syrup is at least helping her sleep now!
Let me set the scene--we're driving on I-126 going over the bridge. Please keep in mind that for Chloe any "r" or "l" sound is replaced by the "w" sound!



Chloe: "I can't see the wivew mom"

me: "It's too low right now. We need some rain."

Chloe: "Doesn't God make it wain?"

me: "yes"

Chloe: "God?"............."God?"...................."GOD?"........."Mom, he can't hear me."

me: "yes, baby, God can hear you anywhere remember?"

Chloe: "oh yeah, God has weally big ears. God?, can you pwease make it wain so I can see the wivew?.................. Mom, he's not answering."

me: "Well.... we can't always hear God, but I'm sure he heard you and is working on getting us some rain soon."

Chloe: "Is it because I have small ears?"

me: silence (trying not to laugh)

Chloe: "I wish I had big ears like God and Dumbo. Can God fly like Dumbo? Does God have a mouse friend too? Was God's mom sad when he was a baby because his ears were so big? When I get growed up, will I have big ears too? Can Nina get big ears too so we can both hear God? How come you can't hear God--did your ears not get big yet?...... I don't want to go to my doctor's office. Can my doctor hear God yet?"

me: "We're here"



I like to refer to that as a rapid fire questioning session. And trust me, she didn't forget a single question she asked, and I had to try to answer all of them as we waited forever in the waiting room!