Squeaker in Space

Two posts in two days!!! Amazing, I know. ;-)

I was thinking about quirky things the squeaker has said, and I thought this little story would be a good one to share. Sometimes my boy can be very frustrating -- he's very smart in some ways, but struggles mightily with basic academic skills. Watching him do math makes us tear our hair out. Trying to read his handwriting is like trying to decipher an ancient and scrawly language. Tasks that require attention to detail frustrate him and usually have poor results. But when it comes to big-picture stuff, he amazes us. His ability to analyze information, to synthesize disparate ideas, seems almost prodigal, and I do not use that word lightly. In fact, I cringe a bit in using it because parental boasting is not my style. You'll never catch me bragging about my kid's grades or being on the honor roll or dean's list. I think parents who insist their child is just the brightest kid in his or her class are tedious at best and delusional at worst.

That being said, the squeaker sometimes throws out these observations that leave us stunned. Earlier this week, we were all in the car early in the morning. I was heading to work and the boys were going to spend the day with their grandmother. In the pre-dawn sky, Venus was shining above us.

As we drove, I explained that Venus was another planet and that like Earth, it circles our sun. I told the boys about our solar system and how there are other solar systems too, maybe with life. The squeaker gazed at Venus and commented that it was funny to think that if we were standing on Venus instead, Earth would just be a little dot in the sky, just like Venus was to us at that moment.

This is the same kid who cannot add 5 plus 7.