bedtime questions
Astrid (7): Sometimes fields are confusing because they just look like they go on and on forever.
Axel (4): Do numbers go on forever?
Me: Yes. They go on and on and that’s called infinity.
Astrid: I don’t like talking about infinity. I mean it’s ok it just kind of hurts my brain.
Axel: I want to make a dog course for Ebba like with a teeter-totter going across and hoops and stuff for her to do tricks.
Astrid: Where are you gonna get all the stuff for it?
Axel: I don’t know. I don’t know everything Astrid.
Astrid: Well, why don’t you start with a hula hoop. They have them at the general store.
Axel: They have crazy carpets there too. (pause) Can crazy carpets do jumps or just slide like what makes them crazy?
Astrid: Is a carpet and a mat the same thing?
Me: Kind of but sometimes a mat is smaller than a carpet.
(a few moments silence)
Axel: What makes a lion a lion? The roar?
Me: The roar and the mane.
Axel: What’s a mane?
Me: The fur that goes in a circle around their face.
Axel: Oh. (pause) What makes a snake a snake?
Me: They slither on the ground and they shed their skin and grow a new one.
Axel: What makes a polar bear a polar bear ?
Me: Big bears, white fur, can swim in cold water. Time to go to sleep.
Astrid: In the Arctic? Where’s Antarctica? Argh, nevermind, can we just go to sleep now?
Axel: Ok. (quiet for a minute. then whispers:) Mama? What is Ezra being for Halloween?













