My son is smart. He’s inquisitive. I love observing him as he stares out the window. I can almost hear the gears turning. The teacher in me is so proud of his eagerness to learn and the pure curiosity of his surroundings. 
Any time we run mundane errands, he and his little brother usually occupy their time in the backseat of the minivan discussing Mario Brothers, or Minecraft, or making up games of who would win or who did it first. I spend the drive entertaining their almost two-year-old sister with either I Spy or Itsy-Bitsy-Spider. Sometimes I’m lucky enough and she sleeps so I can jam out to Taylor Swift.
Then there’s those moments, where Sister is sleeping and the discussion with Brother has come to a quiet lull. These are the moments when I hear;
Mom. Mom. Mom!
(Please note that the following occurred within five minutes, in this exact sequence.)
“Why is the sun super bright and not melting the snow?”
“Why don’t we water the trees in the winter time?”
“Can we grow kiwi? Do kiwis grow on trees? Can I save my kiwi seed and plant it in our back yard?”
“Can you cry yourself to death?”
“Are eagles the strongest birds in the whole world?”
“What is the strongest and toughest animal in the world?”
“Can we get to the center of the earth? Could we build a rocket and go backwards into the ground?”
These are the moments where I really wish I had paid better attention in geography, biology, and really any class that ends with the suffix -ology, as the curious nature of my child will not let me off the hook with an “I don’t know.” (To any of my former teachers, please do not read any further):
“Because the temperature is still too cold.”
“Because there’s enough water in the ground.”
“I don’t want kiwi growing in my back yard.”
“Please don’t ask questions like that.”
“Yes.”
“A rhinoceros.”
“That is a great question. Maybe you should try it.”
After answering these and a dozen other questions, not to mention responding to about a hundred “Mom guess what…” and “Mom did you know…”s, I came to two conclusions:
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My seven-year-old is officially smarter than me.
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I am completely screwing him up.
Hopefully, he’s smart enough to figure out that his mama never paid attention in science class….
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