Peace in Kiddo Realizations

I had the most interesting conversation with LM1 today.

Today we headed to the store to exchange a Dave Pilkey book he’d received from Santa Claus. It was a duplicate to one he already had (whoopsie daisy!). LM2 was with us and considered that maybe his big brother would not opt for another book.

“Are you going to get a Lego set?” LM2 wanted to know.

I explained that when we returned the book, we received a credit to the store for the price of the book. Legos and books do not cost the same, so it makes sense to simply choose another book for the same price and call it a day.

“What?” LM1 said, a bit shocked.

“What?” I said.

“Wouldn’t buying a Lego save money?” LM1 said.

“What?” I said.

The thought that Legos could cost less money than books was interesting, to say the very least. The fact that LM1 was looking to save money and potentially get more for less (perhaps 2 Lego sets would equal the cost of a book?) makes him his father’s son.

“Why would Legos be worth less money?” I said.

“To make a book it takes days. I mean, months,” he said. “Maybe more. The author has to write all those pages. And then they draw all the pictures. Legos are easy to make. A machine can make thousands in a second. It’s a robot thing that makes them.”

Pause.

Breathe.

Pause.

Think.

Continue walking down the aisle.

How to explain to a child that (1) he is partly correct; books take a long time to craft and publish, (2) time spent in production is not equally quantified in determining the cost of a product, (3) he is a genius and I love how his mind works, and (4) I love that he understands and appreciates what it takes to create a book?

HOW DO I EXPLAIN?

I tried, people. I really tried.

But mostly, I felt proud. His little realization brought me so much love and admiration for my son, I could only bask in the moment. I let it fill me up and spill out into the aisles. I explained as much as I could about how our little world works and then I promised to have Daddy explain more later. It’s moments like these that make me smile, feel alive, and bask in gratitude. It was just incredible.

What brought you peace this week? Share the peace!