Kid Logic

Yesterday I walked into the boys room after doing the breakfast dishes and found them dressed in their Batman and Robin capes. At least that's what I thought they were. I was mistaken.

"Mommy, don't you know we are trying to be Superman, but we have to have glasses. Clark Kent always wore glasses."

I knew it would be useless to remind them that while Clark Kent wore glasses, Superman didn't. Nor were they wearing Superman costumes. In fact, worrying about the authenticity of the costume including glasses seemed out of place. I didn't say any of this. Instead I just found them some glasses. (Not the kind Clark Kent wore, I'd like to point out.)

Sometimes it is hard to figure out the logic of my kids' thinking. Most of the time I realize there is no logic and just go with it. Even the things that drive me crazy, like eggs must be served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. English muffins cannot be cut in half, but toast can. (Aaron and I have joked that if we served James eggs on a plate with a fork and an English muffin cut in half it would make his head explode.) Also, letting William climb the tree in the back yard even though we both know he gets stuck every time and has to be rescued. How I cannot make a Lego vehicle to match their specifications even when I am doing it exactly as they tell me to. Once, when James was about 2 and a 1/2, I asked the doctor if something might be wrong with him. He had so many seemingly arbitrary rules about everything. "No," the doctor assured me, "he's just a kid and kids are weird."

What helps me the most is to remember some of my own weird things. When I was a kid I hated my food to touch. I wore my hair in a ponytail on the top of my head (imagine a unicorn) and was convinced it looked good. I was sure my sister's clothes would fit me, and insisted on trying them on, despite the fact that she is 10 years older than me. Even now there are things about me that make no logical sense to anyone else, but drive me crazy. I cannot stand it when the blinds are pulled up unevenly, but ask me the last time I dusted them.

Perhaps there really isn't that much difference between adults and kids when it comes to logic, it's just that we control ourselves better when our logical world falls apart. Well, at least we like to think we do.