It’s been a long time since the boys have gone running with me. I thought they would never want to go again, but tonight, I talked them into it! I used the persuasion of Christmas lights and it worked!
We talked about all of the lights, and Liam asked why there were no skeletons up…which makes me wonder if he’s seen “The Nightmare Before Christmas” too many times now. He asked when there would be snow, and I explained to him that Florida is the armpit of the world, and that it’s just always sticky, hot, and all-around unpleasant here, so there would be no snow. That’s when I started thinking about global catastrophes that might indeed cause snow flurries here, and all of that headed out of my mouth before I could really stop it. And stopping an escaped thought while you are running isn’t easy, because it takes so much more effort to speak, I just feel that if I have begun it I must also finish it.
About half way through the run, Liam suddenly started telling me about what happens if our lungs get punctured. “If you get a hole poked in your lungs you can’t breathe,” he said…rather cheerfully. Finn concurred. I said, “We are out for a run, and looking at Christmas lights! Where did you hear that?” Their answer, “In a book at school!” I couldn’t help it, I had to explain why we can’t breathe if our lungs are punctured. I’m curious to see how my explanation manifests at school tomorrow.
Just a little farther down the road, both boys started yelling at a car that passed a bit too closely. “Idiot! Jerk! Stupid Idiot!” And that was TOTALLY my fault. They heard all of that on the way home, as all of Jacksonville freaks out and would rather get home fast and dead than safe and alive.
I said, “That’s it guys! Let’s spread the Christmas cheer!” Liam asked me why I said that…and in addition to all of the other things I had to explain, firstly that we can only say those things about other people when we are in our car, and when they are with me, and secondly, what “ironic,” “cynical,” and “facetious” mean. I don’t really know what of my lecture they understood, but I am really curious to know.
Also, it is really tough to push seventy some pounds of boys in a jogging stroller! It’s a good workout though. I might have to talk them into seeing the lights every night.
