Children Say Many Amusing Things

Ages ago, I read an interesting article in the New Yorker.  I know this was ages ago because I only subscribed to the New Yorker for the first six months I lived in New York. I found the weekly publication schedule so stressful that I cancelled my subscription.

Anyway, the piece by Adam Gopnick was about psychoanalysis.  I don't think it was specifically about his experience with psychoanalysis but he did draw on his own experience.  Once, after the author unloaded a long story about his ambivalence about having children, the analyst simply retorted, "Children say many amusing things."  This quote had a huge impact on Gopnick, who went on to have a family and remember what his doctor said every time his kids said something amusing.  If his house was anything like ours, he probably remembers his doctor on a daily basis.  Since I read the article, I know I do.

Recently M was remarking on the different ways his friends pronounce his name. The pronunciation does differ noticeable between his cousin L, who has a Boston accent, his British teachers and friends, and West Coast L. As we discussed this, he asked where West Coast L is from. I told him Portland. He replied, "she speaks Port."  Last weekend out of the blue M said, "I think I'll marry L and be an army man."  I asked what L would do and he said, "she'll stay with the kids so they don't get into mischief."  When I asked how many kids, he said, "two, because that works out well for bunk beds."  When I asked where they would live he said, "when L's mom dies we'll live in her house, and I'll be Port!"  (Note:  moving into someone's house after they die is a recurring theme with M; I suspect he doesn't understand real estate transactions and thinks this is the only way to acquire property).

A couple of weekends ago we were out most of the day, then we came back and played Batman. First with figures then live action. I was the Riddler, then maybe after a few minutes M said, "pretend I'm Bat Boy and daddy is Bat Man and you are the Joker but you turned nice and married Bat Man."  Reforming baddies is a recurring theme with M; his "lands" must not have a high rate of recidivism as Batman, etc. spend a lot of time teaching the villains how to be nice.

M is a huge fan of Robin Hood, and often uses his Playmobil knights castle to play a version of Robin Hood.  I, always assigned the role of the baddy, am often asked to be the "Foamy King of England."  For those of you who (unlike me) haven't watched Disney's Robin Hood four million times in the past year, there is a song that refers to Prince John as the "Phony King of England."