While putting my six-year old boy to sleep tonight …
SUN SU: “Can we see the Clone Wars tomorrow?”
ME: “We’ll go this weekend. I have to stay home tomorrow, Sun Su. I’m on call.”
SUN SU: “Is that when you bring the phone to bed?”
ME: “Yeah.”
SUN SU: “Why do they call you?”
ME: “If the hospital has questions, they call me at home. Or if a sick person has a problem, they call.”
SUN SU: “Why are they sick?”
ME: “Sometimes they don’t wash their hands. Or they eat too much. Or don’t eat enough. Or they get a cold and it makes them more sick. Sometimes it just happens.”
SUN SU: “Don’t people know they’re supposed to wash their hands?”
ME (laughing): “They should. Sometimes people still don’t.”
SUN SU: “Oh… (thinking) … How old is Yoda?”
ME: “Nine hundred years. Can you believe it?”
SUN SU: “Shouldn’t Yoda be dead now?”
ME: “I think The Force keeps him alive. For pretend.”
SUN SU: “How old are you?”
ME: “Thirty-seven.”
SUN SU: “Oh….” (thinking)
ME: “No more questions. Go to bed now.
___________________________
THE FASTEST HUNK OF JUNK IN THE GALAXY
I don’t usually splurge and the kids have too many toys in the first place, but when I read about how awesome the new Millennium Falcon toy was, it didn’t take long for me to get one.
ME: “Hey, I’m going to Toys R’ Us.”
AMY: “What for?”
ME (grinning): “There’s this … toy I wanted to get — for the kids. The Millennium Falcon. It’s huge!”
AMY: “What’s that?”
ME: “What’s that? The Millennium Falcon, babe. Han Solo’s ship? The ship that made the kessel run in less than twelve parsecs? You know that big circle thing.” (I hold my arms out like a giant frisbee flying through an asteroid field.)
AMY: “… How much is it?”
ME: “It’s not cheap. You probably don’t want to know.”
AMY: “Yes I DO WANT to know, now.”
ME: “Um, $150.”
AMY: “Oh, that’s not bad. I thought you were going to say like $500.”
It’s a good thing I told her about someone I knew buying an authentic stormtrooper suit for a thousand bucks beforehand.
Can you really put a price on smiles like these?
Sometimes nostalgia gets expensive.
SUN SU: “Can I put it down now, appah? It’s … heavy.”
