Little Yarns

Last night Gabriel walked with me to the neighborhood grocery store, just after the rise of the full moon.* He looked up at the little pin-prick stars above and said "Mom, the stars are little tiny hedgehogs, and the moon is a ball of chocolate for them to eat!"

Did I write here about Chetten Mall? According to the kids, Chetten Mall is on the other side of outer space. You can only get there in a rocket or space shuttle. There is pizza at Chetten Mall but no trees or grass. There are mechanical animals to ride on. Ogwerts do not go to Chetten Mall (duh! They live in the rain forest!).

Valerie has developed a fascination with thinking and talking about death and heaven, talking about it pretty much every day. It was kind of kicked off by the kids seeing a dead pigeon on the street near our house. They were grossed out and fascinated, and not a little worried. They asked lots of questions about what happened to the pigeon, and where it went, etc. etc. Gabriel got over it a few days later but Valerie has been mulling over all these existential questions, I guess it's been about a month now? All kids go through this stage, right?

* Can I just stop to express one of my pet peeves? And that is people who don't understand the phases of the moon. The very first My Little Pony episode describes the moon rising when night begins, and setting at dawn to give ascendancy to the sun. Well, sure, for maybe 3 nights around the full moon, but not at any other time during its cycle! Why don't people realize that the moon rises an hour later every night? Is our society so disconnected from the natural cycles of the earth???