Sometimes I hesitate to send things out to friends about my younger son because even though I want to share things about him, I don't think most people would understand.  At first it was cool to have a 14 month old who could talk in complete sentences, but with that came extreme sensitivity to textures and changes in routine.  It took months of tantrums before he would stay his bed once we moved him from the crib.  A more naturally inflexible child, I've never met. 

He sees everything; he notices everything; he remembers everything.  The toilet at preschool overflowed one day when he flushed it.  For 6 months we struggled with his terrifying memory of the water.  Floods became a daily topic of conversation because  his imagination could see the house filling with water.  When the tsunami hit Asia, I wouldn't let him watch TV.  I knew he would not forget.  I knew he could not forget.  He still says to me, do you remember when such and such happened.  Often the thing he remembers happened  when he was 2 or 3.  Some I didn't remember until he mentioned it.

When he was almost 4, his cousin traced his  outline in our driveway with sidewalk chalk and  handed him the piece to color it in.  When I came over to look at his creation, I saw hair, eyes and lots of lines branching out through the torso, arms and legs.  Tactful mommy that I am I said, "Tell me about your picture."  He points to the lines in turn, "This is the small intestine, this is the large intestine, and these are the blood vessels."  The drawing had no mouth, but it had digestive and circulatory systems.

He's six  now.  Last night we went to see a children's play with some friends.  At the end he turned to me and said, "I'm so full of tonight that my head feels heavy." 

On the way home, I asked the children what they liked best about the musical.  My oldest loved the dialogue and the jokes and shared his favorite snippets.  My daughter loved the costumes and the dancing, especially the dance of the turtles and crabs.  And then my second son spoke up.  "I liked the monkeys."  Pause.  "Mommy, did you see the lightning bug at the back of  the room.  I liked that."  Another pause."Why didn't that sea gull have any eyes?  You know the one on the right when they hung them down from the ceiling and people danced under them.  The other one had eyes, but that one didn't. Why?"  I told him that probably it got damaged and no one thought the audience would notice. "But mommy, you know  I'm always looking for what's right and what's wrong.   A seagull wouldn't fly in it's sleep."  Another pause. "Why was that girl crying, Mommy?  When all the little girls were dancing in white, one of the girls was crying.  Why?"

My love, no wonder your head is heavy.  Lean your head against me and we'll pray that Jesus will help me answer your questions and help you sleep tonight