Follow the thought process

January 17, 2009 by Barbara.

As you may know, Ken was scheduled to testify at a court martial the first week of January. Just like on tv, his credentials were entered into evidence and then the lawyers debated his standing before the judge accepted him as an “expert witness”. He must have been convincing since he was allowed to come home earlier than predicted.

With the added challenge of getting around a city in the midst of a transit strike, I was a bit nervous being in charge of picking Ken up at the airport at 5:00 pm. I was more afraid of him trying unsuccessfully to find a taxi and the eventual cost of a rush-hour ride home. As luck would have it, his plane was early but Border Services was short-staffed and Reid and I had time to buy a treat and get to the doors Ken came out of with time to spare.

Reid had had her heart set on a popsicle even though it was wickedly cold outside and wasn’t the least bit tempted by the chocolate bars that I pointed out. Since *we* weren’t outside, I decided that no lasting harm would result and paid for the gigantic 5-stripe LifeSaver Frozen Snack that Reid wanted. To the best of my knowledge, Reid has never had a regular LifeSaver candy because I’m paranoid about her choking on one and so I told her about the existence of the candies. (If she has had one, please don’t tell me about it and don’t give her any more.)

After a couple of licks, Reid asked, “Where is the switch to make it light up, Mommy?” I was puzzled and Reid noticed. “Lightsabers light up,” she said, stating the obvious. I remembered all of the little Star Wars characters at her school’s Halloween party and figured out the connection. I told her that it was a “Life SaVer” not a “Lightsaber”. Please note that while the “b” and the “v” sounds are often interchanged when Reid speaks, I keep them distinct. By the time Ken appeared, Reid was chattering about her flashlight. I tried to explain Reid’s thought processes to Ken simply, since he’d been in transit all day, but a flow chart would really have helped or at least one of those bouncing balls that help people follow the text on videos.

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