Three anecdotes

This morning, the very instant that Isaac woke up he said, "I've got something to tell you."

He had come into bed with me sometime during the night, so his head was right next to mine on the pillow. And what was his first waking thought? It turned out to be this: "Two Bobcats in the back of a double dump truck!"

He meant a Bobcat brand skid loader, of course. I asked him if he had been dreaming about the loaders, but he denied it. We have yet to discover what Isaac dreams about. He claims he doesn't have any dreams.

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This weekend we dropped by our local elementary school's Halloween carnival, where we checked out the pumpkin patch and the children's cake-decorating contest. Some of the cakes were, frankly, horrifying. I guess when you're in fifth grade it's funny to cover a cake with bloody dismembered baby dolls, but it's just not as appealing when you're an adult. Not only is it gross and disturbing, but how do you explain such a thing to a curious three-year-old?

Whenever Isaac had a question, we just said that some people celebrate Halloween as a scary holiday and that it's okay because they like being scared. He didn't really understand either aspect of this, but he seemed to accept it for now. Actually, right now Isaac doesn't have enough context to be frightened by death or the supernatural, so it will probably be harder to explain the appeal of Halloween horror when he gets slightly older.

Have you ever realized how inappropriate Halloween can be for a small child? Even the decorations surrounding the pumpkin patch made me uncomfortable -- a graveyard with joke tombstones and bony half-rotted arms emerging from the soil. And sure enough, later on Isaac asked, demonstrating his complete lack of understanding, "Why is it supposed to be scary when people come out of the ground?"

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Over the weekend I noticed Isaac occasionally using the word "stinking" as a modifier, but I didn't understand where it had come from. Then yesterday I heard him say, as he pretended to drive somewhere, "There's gotta be at least one stinkin' sign!"

Trying to keep my laughter to myself, I immediately called Craig and asked him if he had been the source of that particular remark. My question was answered when I overheard Isaac saying politely, as he pretended to make a phone call of his own, "Do you know where the hazardous waste drop-off is?"

On Friday Craig and Isaac had gotten lost on their way to the dump to dispose of some old paint, and Craig had called me at work several times so I could help them navigate. I guess this whole situation made a big impression on Isaac. In fact, Craig told me that even when he was frustrated about getting lost, he had been very careful to use the word "stinking," suspecting that Isaac would find it hilarious and pick it up for himself.

I especially like how Isaac is always careful to drop the G. It's important to be precise when you're learning the language.