02.26.06
The wonderful world of Noah
I imagine all kids see the world in their own way, but I guess all of us do that, anyway. I’d love to live in Noah’s world for a while, because it’s so interesting sometimes. Here are some of my glimpses into it.
Noah got glasses today. When he put them on, he said “I’m a grandfather Noah!”. Then all night he proceeded to talk about being a daddy. I guess the assumption is that having glasses automatically ages you, or turns you into a Daddy or a grandfather.
When going to bed, he suddenly told me “I have a penis infection!”. I said “What? Honey, does your penis hurt?” He said yes. I asked, “does it hurt when you go potty?” And he said “yes, I have to go potty! That will make it feel better!” And then it dawned on me and I had to say “No, honey, that’s not an infection, that’s an erection.” We’ve discussed erections with him before, but apparently they sound similar enough that he thought it was something bad, an infection, and that peeing heals this, because as soon as he was finished in the bathroom he said “There! It’s all better!”
We read bible stories every night, and a few nights ago was the story of Elijah being taken to heaven in the chariot of fire. When talking about Elijah tonight, Noah told me Elijah went to heaven in a fiery cherry. And then he apparently asked Dan what he was going to heaven in. Despite me assuring him that people aren’t really crucified much anymore, Noah thinks this is how he will die. And then we had to have a conversation about how making messes isn’t a sin, but not cleaning them up when he’s told to is one. And how spilling isn’t wrong, it’s just an accident, and everyone has accidents. And when we tell him no one is perfect, we have to go through a litany of everyone he knows and agree that yes, that person is not perfect either.
Noah is very proud of himself. Because he has discovered that he can call us Mom and Dad now. He says them with relish, and you can tell he’s savoring the words as they come out. Like now he’s more of an equal. It breaks my heart to hear it, to tell the truth, but at least he reverts to Mommy when he’s not thinking. One day that will be gone as well. I think I’m Mom more than Mommy even now.
I’ve been doing some signing with Elisabeth, and so of course Noah wants to know them as well. The sign for Mommy is thumb pointing at the chin, with the fingers splayed away from your face. The sign for Daddy is the same thing but thumb pointing to the forehead. So Noah immediately said “This is Noah!” and put his thumb against his nose. I guess it works…. nose…. Noah.