Because I Said So

Where’d it go (the water in the tub).
What happened? (it’s dark out).
What’s that? (thunder).

Harry asks so many questions these days. I struggle to remember that the earth rotates, or I explain that the bathwater travels to the ocean so the fish can swim, or to come up with some explanation for thunder. I remember Helen Hunt’s character Jamie Buchman in an episode of Mad About You giving an explanation taken from her environmental science professor at Yale. I don’t remember what the explanation was. I do remember Paul Reiser’s character mentioning something about the gods bowling. I could tell Harry that.
Most likely, I won’t need to. Because seems to be just fine. Because! When I was a kid, I hated that response! I swore I would never use it! But I ended up with a kid that is okay with it. Go figure.
I suppose it is just his age, and maybe my explanatiosn are too elaborate. Maybe this is just a practice period so I can figure out the answers in time for when he really needs to learn them.
People never stop learning. I learned just the other day that ACK is the airport code for Nantucket. I learned in 2001 that people who shoe horses are called ferriers. It came up in conversation today. Today I also learned that Mommy Wars rage in Germany, too. Zie Germans are just like me.
I played tour guide for a woman from Germany today. She had my haircut and color, she wore similar clothing, she had a 2 year old child with a Snoedel-like “lovey” and she had similar reasons for continuing to work but refusing to participate in other activities that took her away from her daughter, hence, slightly more flab. She was pretty cool. It was a neat experience and I was reminded that a lot of the people I work with are just like me, regardless of where they live. That is also kind of neat.
The people I work with…that leads me to another point: I suspect Harry may tell his kindergarten class I am a flight attendant. In the past week Harry has both picked me up from and dropped me off at the airport (with Kevin’s help). It is AWESOME! I LOVE that he shouts "MOMMY!!!!" as though I am the most important person one the planet. I lalso ike that he can get an image in his head of what work means, even if it is ever so basic. Right now he understands that I get on a plane. He sees them in the sky and says “Mommy Plane!” He wants to know “Me?”, “Me Plane?”, “Go see Mickey?”. Wait a second...do you think he thinks going to work is like going to Disneyworld? WAIT! That might be a GOOD thing!!!Now I'm thinkin'! Even if I didn't remember the earth rotates on it's axis.