It's A Burning Ball of Gas. Pumba, With You Everything Is Gas

Originally posted January 2009

Last night, per instructions of Her Bad Mother, I snuggled with the Monster and Cashman on the couch. I would have snuggled with Sugarbaby, but that is the equivalent of hugging a tiger cub. All cute and soft but full of claws and bad attitude. She's mean, let me just tell ya.

Anyways, as I was saying we were spending some quality time in front of the telly, watching Wall-E. You remember that part where Wall-E is holding on to the ship that EVE is in and they're cruising thru space and they pass the sun and Wall-E takes the opportunity to supercharge his solar cells? Yeah, that one. The Monster looks up at me and asks, "What is that big ball of fire?" I paused, then answered, "The sun." It's a huge ball of burning gas and its the closest star to the Earth. He just looked at me and said, "Wow".

Wow is right. I forget that my children don't know things unless I teach them. The Monster, who never ceases to amaze me with his limitless vocabulary, addition skills, and insanely accurate memory, didn't know what the sun was or what it really looked like up close. I guess they haven't covered the solar system in Kindergarten yet. It was refreshing and also brought me down to earth a bit to see the confusion, then wonder on his face as he processed this information. You mean the sun, that is out during the day, is a star? And a star is basically on fire all the time? Yep.

If we don't tell them, or their teacher doesn't tell them, or their auntie or grandma doesn't tell them, how are they too know? I feel like I've just been going through the motions this past year, with all that pregnancy, giving birth, and zombie like first few months. Then there was the buying a house, moving, coping with fire ants, first year of school stuff too. I need to slow down, point things out to all of them. Explain everything I can, and Google the rest. Maybe I could have Cashman doing his own laundry by the end of the year. Yes honey, we separate colors and whites. You know why? Of course you do, cause mommy taught you.