Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Who Is This Child?

On our way to the zoo in my parents' hometown this weekend, my daughter suddenly announced, "When I get big, I'm gonna get a Hummer."

My mother and I looked at each other and I said, "A Hummer?" My daughter is not quite three years old and sometimes she is hard to understand. Usually, if I say multiple words that are wrong, she gets upset until I say the word she was trying to say. I thought I had certainly misunderstood her. But I hadn't.

"Yeah . . . a Hummer."

"Like a really big car . . . that kind of Hummer?"

"Yep . . . when I get big." Duh, mama.

For the record, I don't drive a Hummer. I drive a nice little four door sedan. No one I know drives a Hummer. I doubt she has ever been in a Hummer. But she was absolutely certain she was going to get a Hummer when she gets big. Alrighty then . . . .

The next day, she informed me she wanted a "cleaner" toy for her next potty-chart-reward-toy. A vacuum-cleaner toy. Keep in mind - the child has never seen me use a vacuum cleaner. She knows we have one because it fell out of the front hall closet once when I was searching for a missing mitten. I have no idea how she knows how to use one, but when she saw a cute little pink one at the children's consignment store, she was all over it, vacuuming away. So, I bought her a used pink toy vacuum cleaner. And she's used it more than I have ever used my real one.

So, this week, I am asking, "Who is this child?" Some non-environmentally friendly, super-sized SUV-driving suburban soccer-mom/Stepford wife in the making?

Jeez . . . next she's going to tell me she's voting for John McCain.

4 comments:

Michael said...

I'm not sure but I think it may be child abuse to say anything about your child and John McSame in the same sentence. Be careful!

Anonymous said...

Would it be any better if you used Blagojevich or George W. ?

And all I can say is, be thankful she hasn't learned all the meanings of the word "hummer."

Jennifer said...

I remember being so shocked when my kids first talked about something they learned from someone other than me. For example, my MIL exposed my toddlers to Barney. Barney I could stand, it was the shit-eating grin of those obnoxious kids that I hated. But my daughter loved the show. Ugh. That's about as bad as wanting a Hummer.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like she's on the "right" track!