With all the snow falling in New England lately, we’ve got ourselves a whole lotta snow drifts on curbs. So sometimes the only way to get into the car is on the street side. This, of course, presents a danger to small children, so the other day, I told Dina to walk close to the side of the car while I shielded her with my body from the moving traffic only inches away from our car door.
Dina: You’d sacrifice yourself for me?
Me: Yeah, that’s what moms do.
Dina: Because I still have my whole life ahead of me…
Me: Sure. And because it’s my instinct to protect my young–
Dina: …and because I still need to grow up and fall in love and get married and have babies, and you’ve already done all that?
Me: (sarcastically) Right. So I’m useless to the universe now.
Now we are in the car, where Basya’s already sitting in her seat.
Basya: You’re not useless. You still need to raise us.
Me: So what age do you think you’d need to be where I’d be dispensable?
Basya: (thinks for a moment) Like, when I’m sixteen…because then I could drive, and I could get a job and support Dina.
Me: Great! So when you’re sixteen I’m going to run away and join the circus!
Basya: (tenderly) Mom! Just because we won’t need you around doesn’t mean we won’t want you around!
I couldn’t make this stuff up.
