The Age of Innocence

Every once in a while we get a laugh from some of the innocent comments of our boys, and today I thought I'd share a couple of them with you.

As you can well imagine, things have been hopping around here. With having a new Boyd in the family, we're all getting an education and a half. And since that new Boyd is a girl, the boys are finding out more than they ever thought they didn't know.

On the day that Kylee was induced, my phone conversations were filled with discussions about how far along Kylee was and how much she was dilated. I didn't realize the boys were paying so much attention to what I said until we got to the hospital to see the new baby.

As everyone in our family ooohed and aaaahed over Stella and took turns holding her, one of the boys turned to his oldest brother and asked the brand new dad rather innocently, "So how much did Kylee's eyes dilate?"

Matt blinked a moment and then said, "What?"

Our innocent hesitated. I could tell that he was a little proud of himself for working this all out in his head. He'd had his eyes dilated before, so he put two and two together and got nowhere near four. However, the snicker or two he heard made him unsure. Finally he repeated his question, "How much did Kylee's eyes dilate?"

This time Matt was ready. "All the way," he informed his brother. "All the way."

Last night on the way to church, we passed a bar that advertises their live music. I noticed another of our boys showing extreme interest in the sign and asked him what he was looking at.

"Their sign," he told me. "It says 'Chippendales'."

I could tell from his tone that he wasn't sure why the Rescue Rangers would be at a bar, so I had to break the truth to him.

"They're not talking about the squirrels."

"Oh." He looked relieved that some favorite cartoon characters weren't hanging out at a bar, but I could see a question lingering too. I let it linger. Some things they're just not ready for yet.

And neither am I.