From time to time, my firstborn utters something that really amazes us all, and about which someone says, "I hope you're writing these things down." This is always followed by the by-now familiar admonition to me, "You're in so much trouble." Since so many of you are Lucy admirers and benefit from her entertaining takes on the world, I think I'll start blogging about these. This for all of you who are tired of crying upon reading my posts.
Lucy's current favorite movie is Disney's Aladdin. For those of you who need a refresher, here's a brief summary of the pertinent plot: Aladdin is a street urchin who steals food to eat, meets the princess of Agrabah when princess runs away from the castle, and he is then accused of kidnapping the princess and thrown in jail. Jail is ruled by the evil sorcerer, Jafar. Jafar desires the lamp (in which lives the genie who could grant Jafar's wish to be Sultan) that resides in the Cave of Wonders, but alas, Jafar cannot enter said Cave, as he does not have "a pure heart." Jafar sends his newest prisoner, Aladdin, into the Cave to retrieve the lamp for Jafar, in hopes that Aladdin's heart is pure. Indeed, Aladdin is successful in retrieving the lamp, and the movie proceeds from there.
Lucy asks lots of questions about new movies...why this and how come that, what does it mean this and i wonder that. So tonight, over macaroni and cheese, we have the following exchange:
Lucy: "Mama, what is a pure heart?"
Me: "If you have a pure heart, you love God and want to do what he commands." (The best I could do on the fly...)
Lucy: "But Aladdin doesn't have a pure heart, because he steals."
????? What would your response be, with about 3 seconds to think about it? Okay, I took more than 3 seconds, but still...what kind of 4 year old points out theological inconsistencies in Disney movies? She's so right (she usually is, frighteningly). Do you go into the relativistic nature of truth and purity as presented by Disney? Because I guarantee you I'd be up half the night explaining what "relative" means, and how relativity works. If this is what she thinks about at 4, what kind of daggers will she be unsheathing at 8? I guess the real bottom line is this: what am I going to do when she starts pointing at me and identifying truth like this in me? Ugh. It's a good thing I love her, because this isn't gonna' be easy.
2 comments:
This is not a game of one-up-manship, but pure commiseration. Here's me and Mo about a year ago, so he was four.
Mo (sadly): Mom, I think God sinned.
Me: Really? What do you mean?
Mo: Well...the FLOOD. It's nice that he saved Noah, but...geez...
I KNOW! WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THIS STUFF? I always try to answer her as honestly as I can, but...I mean, on the one hand their brains operate so concretely, and on the other hand, they are wrestling with stuff that is so NOT concrete or simple. Wow. I think all the time, if this is what I'm addressing at 4, what on earth will we be talking about at 8, or 12?
And I love being able to talk about this stuff and it not being show-offy or one-upping. I wish parents could do more of that...commiserate and connect and not feel the need to challenge or prove that one's kid is smarter or more advanced than the next...so keep on with it. I love it.
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