How Very Like a Bastian
I spent yesterday evening interviewing Bastian. Because he’s four years old, I started small by asking him what he’d seen, heard and done during the day. He told me about an argument he’d had with a friend: “I just had to walk away, mom. He wasn’t listening and that made me upset.” Bastian’s exact words. I gave him a high-five for making a wise choice.
Next, I asked him to talk about things he likes. Bastian had a list a mental mile long and it included stuff I’d never heard him talk about before: Princess and kings, soft skin, and “Being a little scared is good. You know? Spooked and-and happy.” He demonstrated this by balancing on the edge of his bed and falling onto the mattress in slapstick fashion. Brilliant!
Then his dislikes. Apparently, worn out things are a big concern for my son. Toys missing pieces, wonky shopping carts, etc. It really bothers him that there’s a small hole in one of his sheets. “Mom, it’s big enough for my whole THUMB!” Conversely, he expressed a fondness for stains. Especially the green ones. I have no idea how he came by that particular affinity, but if there’s a laundry detergent company out there looking for someone to sponsor, then I’m their mom.
I asked about his friends, but I wasn’t prepared for the answer. Apparently, preschool has as much angst, drama, clowning and popularity contests as any high school on television. Fifteen minutes of that, and I had to change the channel on him.
Fortunately, there’s always something interesting on the science channel.