Preschoolers have a way of keeping their parents humble. Some more than others. Or, at least, that's been my experience. Right now, I am raising a preschooler that does a very good job of making sure the fact that I've done this three times before doesn't go to my head. And, even as I furrow my brow and shake my head from side to side, I love him for it.
Last week, he accompanied me to the grocery store. It was a rare treat, just the two of us. Plus, he had successfully talked me out of green beans and into corn for dinner, so things were looking good in his world. They were about to get a wholeheckuva lot better. No sooner had we exited the glass doors of Save-mart than he exclaimed, "WOW!! THAT.IS.SOOO.COOL!!!!!! I've never seen that before!!" Then, while looking all gaga-eyed at the fire stick-eating woman exhaling smoke before his very eyes, he gushed, "You.are.so.cool!"
What can I say? The boy's lived in Utah a while and apparently has never noticed a person smoking a cigarette.
As I yanked him away, he laid out his new-found life's ambition, that of becoming a fire-stick eating, smoke-exhaling man himself one day. The gushing and planning continued as we got into the car, drove away, and picked up Autumn from a friend's house. Then, because I love my son and don't dream of black lungs, hacking coughs, Nicotine patches, cancer or emphysema for him, I explained the harsh reality to him. It took some convincing, but he finally began to understand that fire sticks aren't quite as cool as he thought.
Tonight, I took him and his older brother Christmas shopping for their siblings. Gifts were purchased, Christmas lists expanded, and then we stepped out into the chilly night air. No sooner had we exited the glass doors of Kohl's than he turned to me and exclaimed, "She could DIE!!" And, wanting to make sure his warning wasn't given in vain, he looked the new firestick-eating woman exhaling smoke in the face and shouted, "YOU.COULD.DIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!!!!!"
Well, that lesson stuck. So, onto the next store we went.
Just kidding. Feeling like I could die, I again yanked him away, scolding him for what was really a warning offered out of concern for a stranger. After explaining that he wasn't in trouble and I knew he was just trying to help, I also offered the insight that the woman didn't want to hear that she could die; that she already knew smoking wasn't healthy, and it wasn't polite to talk to her about it. I hope she was as engrossed in her cell phone conversation as she seemed, but I'm not sure anyone could have missed my little guy's concern.
You really can't stay too proud being a parent. I'm sure every parent's felt it a thousand times over, whether we're drenched in baby puke, embarrassed by the confessions of a talkative preschooler or shunned by a too-cool teenager. This raising kids stuff just isn't for the faint of heart. But, oh, how we love them for it.
