April 14, 2008
We went to Target yesterday. Right into the breach, as Kelley says, late morning on a Saturday — not exactly a down time. Will, being at the age where he is by all means “not little,” is determined not to hold my hand in the parking lot. (Mommy, close your ears.) Feeling as though he is, in fact, old enough to be counted on to walk next to me without holding my hand, I let him do it. Of course, the second I let go of him, he skipped ahead, deciding that this is the point at which to race Lucy in.
Since I am no longer new at this, I had done the scan of where drivers were, etc., so he wasn’t in any immediate danger. Also, he has so far been aware that the sharp “Stop!” actually means something. So, when I yelled it with, o.k., a little bit of panic in my voice, he did manage to come to a sudden halt.
I took his hand, explaining that this is a parking lot, and, therefore, it is not safe to run ahead. Even if it looks like a car might be stopped, there might be a driver in it waiting to pull out and not be able to see a (not) little five-year-old directly behind the bumper.
“Listen,” Will said to me in an overly patient, authoritative voice. “Don’t you think I would hear the engine if the car was about to go?”
Now I know that he is smart, and I also know that he has no qualms telling me whatever is on his mind. Still, dear reader, I was nearly speechless. I tried not to laugh as I weakly responded that yes, that was true, but that he needed to be careful nevertheless because cars could come from anywhere.
Even to my ears it was lame, and Lucy immediately stepped in to say something about cars driving too fast. Before she could finish, Will gave a sharp, “Lucy! You are not part of this conversation.”
Five, I tell you.
Sigh.
May 8, 2008 at 3:08 pm
OMG! That’s hilarious. Seriously. How you keep a straight face around those two, I’ll never know.
I wanted to give you some fuel for your argument, should you find yourself in this particular situation again. You can always tell him that in today’s day and age of hybrid cars, you never can tell if a car is running. The hybrid cars, pulling our of a parking space, run on the electric motor portion of the hyrbid and are therefore silent. Armed with this new info, you can win the argument and get him interested in new technologies
love you.
May 9, 2008 at 2:36 am
That’s awesome! Yes, I will definitely use that!
May 9, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I told John the whole story and before I got to my hybrid suggestion john said, “you know hybrids don’t make any noise when pulling out of parking spaces.” I think we might be a good match.
July 11, 2008 at 10:09 am
it hurts!! (i.e. the cuteness, though let it by noted that by “cute” i do NOT mean to imply “little”).
i was going to make a comment about cars running on vegetable oil, but they are at least as noisy, *and* they smell like french fries. though, that might be how they get you, because first you hear the engine and know to look out (and i’m sure will, like any experienced diesel driver, would be able to identify the diesel engine by its distinctive hum), but then you smell the french fries and *forget* to look out, ’cause you’re like, “hey, french fries!” and then you get hit. so you can tell him that, too. but don’t tell him i told you to tell him, since i’m sure he’d be quick to inform me that *i’m* not part of that conversation, either.