More Bobbin musings
Conversations with Bobbin on the way home from Friday Night this evening were pretty deep. Kids pay a LOT more attention to stuff than we ever give them credit for!
On Healthcare Reform:
Bobbin: Mommy, why some people don't have babies when they're married?
Me: Well, there are lots and lots of reasons. Some people might decide they don't want to have a baby right away because they need to save up their money so that they can find a home where there is space for a baby, or because they want to wait until they've had a chance to do other things that are important to them before they have a baby, or because they just decide they don't want to have a baby.
Bobbin: Or maybe they live out in the country, and they are poor, and if they had a baby they wouldn't be able to pay for going to the far away hospital or they'd have to have the baby at home and buy all of the doctor tools themselves to have the baby at home.
On Taking Care of Family
Bobbin: Mommy, Is GB living in a special home now because he's sick?
Me: Yes, sweetie. He needs to have people who know about his sickness and who can watch him and help him stay healthy and safe.
Bobbin: He needs a special place that feels like a home instead of a hospital, with a nice bed and pillows and curtains and pictures but that have doctors and nurses that are smart and can take care of him that can't be at his home.
Me: That's right
Bobbin: And he needs us to call him and visit him to make him feel better too. And to tell him stories. Like how Tommy attacked a raccoon. Would GB like that story?
Me: Yup, I think he would definitely like that story.
On Friendship
Bobbin: Mommy, why X doesn't let me help when she's sad? I want to help. I always want to help. Just like I want to help you wash windows and clean the floor. I like helping.
Me: Well, maybe X doesn't know how to accept your help. Maybe she's embarassed or shy. Or maybe she's just too hurt or sad to know that accepting your help would make her feel better.
Bobbin: She always does it. She's nice for the first minute we play and then for the hundred minutes after that she's mean.
Me: Are you sure? It seems like sometimes you have a lot more fun together than that.
Bobbin: Well maybe more than 1 minute. Maybe 2 minutes. But I get so frustrated. I try and try. And I always ask. And at some point, Mommy, I will not want to ask and walk away.
Me: Well, yes. I think it's fair to be frustrated if your help is always refused, or if you really are spending more time being mad at each other than having fun with each other. But the thing about friendships is
Bobbin: that you love each other even when you are frustrated.
Me: Well... yeah. That's it.
Bobbin: Well I guess I'll just keep trying. But I'll still be frustrated when she says no. And I'll explain to her that I don't like it when she does that, and that I might even need to walk away and do something else for a little while.
Me: And I think that's fine, and a good choice of words and tone.
On the Anatomy and Science of Seatbelts
Bobbin: Mommy, I know why seatbelts have this part (pulling on the shoulder strap that crosses her torso while she's sitting in the carseat)
Me: Why is that?
Bobbin: It's so you don't hurt your neck when you crash. Like when we were at Disneyland, and we were on the roller coaster, and the roller coaster had seatbelts that went across my lap but not over my shoulder, and when we stopped really fast my body would do this (she leans way forward in her seat) and then do this (she snaps back in her seat) and that made my neck hurt. That's not good for your body, you know. Or your neck.
Me: That's right. That's what they're for.
Bobbin: Mommy, I don't want to go on that roller coaster again.
Me: I don't blame you.
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