An age requirement

There are lots of things that require being a certain age to be able to do them in this house. They aren't necessarily bad things, but things that my kids will have to be a certain age to do. Like dating, driving, going out, curfews and so on. And those are a long way off and thankfully Josh and I have time to decide at what age that will be. And then there are some things that are going to come sooner like soft drinks, gum, sleepovers at friend's houses and son on. I never really thought about how I would be one of the people who decided when these things would happen.

Like gum, I made a rule one day because I was chewing gum and Meredith wanted some. Well at two I wasn't going to give her gum. I was fully aware that the gum would wind up in her hair, on her clothes and probably all over my house. So I made up a "rule" one day in the quick. You have to be 5 to chew gum. Then the other rules just followed suit. Like coke, "mom can I have some coke?" Nope you have to be 5 to drink coke.

Then there are rules that are set that I can't change. Like receiving communion at church. She watches each week very inquisitively. Each week she asks us what it is? What do we do with it? Why can't she have some? One day it was....

"Mom I want to eat that too."

I explained to her that you had to make your first communion before you could have communion. And that was when you were in second grade. And that communion was really Jesus and you had to be ready to receive Jesus. She looked at me like I was crazy. Clearly Jesus was the man on the altar talking, we were not eating him, we were eating "bread." Well this explanation didn't really fly, it confused her. She didn't know what communion was or second grade, but she totally got it when I told her she had to be 7. The wheels in her head were spinning now, I was talking in a language she fully understood. In fact last week when we sat down in church she looked at me and said....

"momma, I'm 7 today"

"umm, no baby you are 2 remember"

"no momma today I am 7, today I gonna get da bread"

See how quick she is. She is a fast thinker and is great with numbers. Really great, in fact she often adds and subtracts without knowing what she is doing. No wonder she got this whole age thing down pat.

Well this morning she is still under the weather. We were laying in bed and I asked her if there was anything she needed. She looks so pitiful right now I would give her the world if she asked.

"Baby do you need anything?"

"Some water momma"

"Are you sure? Do you want some lemonade or (thinking really fast about what else we have) or...... coke?"

her eyes lit up and she smiled from ear to ear.....I was starting to regret that offer, what if she took me up on it and then I had a wired, sick two year old..... and then she looked at me and with the biggest grin said....
"Silly momma you have to be 5 to have coke....I'm only 2!"

Oh how I love my little Meredith. She is such a smart cookie. And so we are laying in bed...I am drinking a coke and my two year old is happily drinking water.