Snapshot: Pussy willows

Most people, especially parents, know of the famous children's book, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. What you might not know is that she wrote hundreds of children's stories in her short life. When Alex and I went to the library a few weeks ago to get Christmas books, the library had all the Christmas books displayed on top of the shelves. We picked up Brown's The Little Fir Tree and added it to our stack. Since we also got Star Wars books, the less appealing The Little Fir Tree did not get read until the day before the books were due. Even the Hanukkah book got read twice before The Little Fir Tree.
Alex is not an inquisitive child during book reading. He doesn't stop us to ask questions and he only talks if we ask him a question, which we occasionally do to gauge brain activity.

I saw the word coming up on the page and decided that I hated the word (a truly disgusting word when used to describe a body part) but would read it anyway...You know, to stay true to an artist's vision. What I did not expect in a million years was for Alex to start pointing to the red flowers on the right page and say, "That's a pussy, and that's a pussy, and that's a pussy..."
I tried to think of every unfunny thing on Earth to keep from laughing out loud, but being unexpected, it was too short a time frame.

So I did what every parent should never and gave the word power by laughing. He is my son and he knows when he strikes comedy gold and this was a good one.
He then continued to say the word over and over and I had to leave after I made it through reading the story.
But not before he climbed up in V's lap and said, "Dad, I have to tell you something..."
Then he whispered, "pussy" in his ear like a secret.


Thank you, Ms. Brown, for such a wonderful story about the lame boy who could eventually walk to his Christmas tree.

God bless us, every one!