I was confronted today with the realization that kids are in their own world and do not necessarily use this wonderful thing we humans are supposed to be blessed with called "thought process".
I can't count how many times I have said "Does that make any sense? Use your brain and think it through!".
But a kid would have to realize that they AREN'T thinking it through in the first place and since mine are 10 and 11, that's just not going to happen.
This afternoon I was taking a moment and reading on the couch while Jeffrey & Katherine and Jacob & Olivia were outside soaking each other with Nerf water guns.
They had only been out there for maybe 5 minutes when Katherine and Olivia came stomping inside.
"What's wrong?" I asked (not REALLY wanting to know because it might mean I had to get up and referee).
Katherine immediately began explaining: "I accidentally" (read: on purpose) "shot Jeffrey in the ear with water and when I tried to tell him I didn't mean to, he told me I did it on purpose, and when I told him I didn't" (read" I did but don't want to admit it) "he told me to SHUT UP. And we don't want to play anymore anyway."
And off they went into the bedroom to sit their wet behinds on the floor after I have told them 100 times not to...
But I digress.
Fast forward 15 minutes and in come Jeffrey and Jacob, laughing and giggling.
As they are hurrying through I ask "Jeffrey... did you tell Katherine to shut up?"
"OK, no problem" Jeffrey calls out and hurries even faster towards his room.
Wait, what?
"Jeffrey?!?"
He pops his head around the corner... "Yes?"
"What did you think I just said?"
"You told me to 'go tell Katherine to shut-up'. But I haven't done it yet."
Seriously son?
In what reality did you wake up in this morning?
"Jeffrey do you honestly think I would tell you to tell your sister to shut up?"
"Well I don't know... maybe... she can get pretty loud and I know if I get tired of it, then you must get tired of it too. I figured I was doing you a favor because this way you didn't have to get up and go tell her yourself."
OK, I was wrong.
He did think it through.
Just not the way I hoped he would.
