Every now and then your child says something that just completely floors you. I treasure these moments as little glimpses of my child’s thoughts on the world. The other day was one of those truly beautiful mornings. The air was a crisp 45 degrees, the sky crystal clear blue no clouds to be seen. My beautiful 2 year old Amelia looks up to the sky and lets out a loud gasp as her little hands fly to the sides of her open wide mouth. Then she points to the sky and declares in a panicked voice, “Mom, look the moon is broken.”

Now, I had a choice at this point in how to respond to her concern. You see not too long ago I spent a lot of time trying to explain how the moon and the sun could be out at the same time. She was quite surprised by this because I had told her that when the sun goes to sleep then the moon comes out. So how could she see both in the sky at the same time? On this particular day the moon was full and very visible. As I thought about how to answer her I realized I needed to be very careful. Part of our night time routine was to snuggle up and give each other kisses, I always end the snuggles by telling her the Sun has gone to sleep so she must too. The last thing I wanted was to give her some excuse to use at bedtime about how the Sun and the Moon don’t really sleep so why should I etc. Needless to say I went on and on with this scientific reasoning for the Sun and the Moon and their cycles bla, bla, bla. Yes I know she’s only 2, I don’t know what I was thinking. I did not want to repeat that mistake. At the same time she had a valid concern as this was her first time she saw the moon with a huge piece missing.

So what did I say to, “Mom, look the moon is broken?” Being much wiser, I gave her a big hug. Then I told her it just looked broken and she shouldn’t worry. “You see, I said, part of the moon didn’t want to go to sleep when the Sun came out. So they are having a little visit, a chat if you will. Soon the moon will fully go to sleep and the Sun will have the sky all to itself.”

She seemed pleased with the answer and we went about the business of the day. I must have had a silly grin on my face all day because I just couldn’t stop seeing her cute little face showing all kinds of concern for her friend the moon. Sometimes the magic and wonder of this world should not be destroyed by scientific reasoning, don’t ya think?