they're, like, little people or something...

Joe shared a fun little story-like moment with his kids with me this evening at the office...

Last night, Joe was turning off the lights around his home, and he shut off the light in the dining room. He's got two little ones, a boy, 5 years old, and a girl, age 3. Or is it... 6 and 4? Frack. Anyway, they're little, and two years apart, and frickin sweet and hilarious, even when they're beating me up.

Anyhow, Alicia's not happy with the dining room light being turned off. She definitely wants it on. So, she comes out of the kids' room and turns it back on. Joe comes back thru the dining room and turns it off again. A moment later, Alicia switches it back on. Joe flips it off once more, and then goes to Alicia and explains that it should be turned off if no one needs it. He further explains that the electricity for the light is energy, and this energy is made by burning stuff for heat and power, and that burning stuff ends up making the world hotter, and when the world gets hotter the coldest places on earth, made of a lot of ice, get warm, and when ice gets warm, it starts to melt, and if those places melt, the polar bears who live there will lose their homes.

A pretty good big (crayon) picture case for keeping the light off, don't you think? I was pretty impressed.

Alicia, however, was not convinced. She still wanted the light on. "I don't like polar bears, anyway!"

Joe was at a bit of a loss at this point, but Joshua didn't miss a beat, putting the following question to his little sister. "But what about baby polar bears?" They'd lose their homes, too, see?

Alicia's determination visibly waned then. Joe said she seemed to struggle with the notion of conceding, but after a minute she ultimately gave in. She let Joe keep the light off.

There's so much remarkable kids stuff in there that makes me smile. Alicia's willfulness and stubborn attitude, the parental logic and strategery involved in explaining the why behind something as adult-simple as turning off a light, and maybe most of all, Joshua stepping in and taking the ball the last yard by coming up with the perfect thing to say, y'know?

"Re-MARK-able!" Like that one no-name toddler from "Our Gang" usedta exaggeratedly declare. =)

Keep on keepin on~