Mommy dear, may I please escape?

You know those moments you have as a mom when you are out in public, or visiting someone and you see a painfully, woefully neglected part of your child's manners or social skills?  You vow that you are going to teach them immediately, perhaps even on the car ride home?  Yes, well this happened to me the other day.  I noticed after finishing a meal that my children needed some help clearing their dishes and asking to be excused.  So, I did what all good mom's do.  I drilled them, I praised them, and I got dad in on the plan.  All, just like puppies, I thought, so well trained :)

So with that preface, the other night after dinner Lucy smiled politely and looked into my eyes and said, "Mother dear, may I please escape?"

"Oh my yes, you may," I giggled.  I haven't had the heart to correct it because I makes me so happy every time she says it.

Another happy moment came the other night as the kids were falling asleep. Hazel can be a very cautious personality and her thought to voice filters are almost always firmly in place, but she loses all filters at night as she is falling to sleep and she jabbers about everything.  So her little eyes were beginning to droop as she kept asking questions.  Questions about everything, the sun, flowers, colors, animals, and everything else drifting through her mind.  Then she asked me, very pointedly "Mom, what is the shortest amount of time a jellyfish has ever lived after it was born?"

A dozen responses when through my mind.  I was laughing to myself.  There was no happy reply...I am sure there are all manner of ways jellyfish have perished quite quickly after birth, perhaps even during birth.

I settled on letting her know that some animals only live a few seconds, but God made all the animals, just like people and the ones who die go right back to him and live in a very beautiful place and are very happy.