Growing up

Sometimes I think you are with your kids to much to see how grown up or mature they are becoming.  Then when you experience it, it gives you a feeling of accomplishment knowing you are doing an okay job at raising your kid.

On Tuesday Nathan had another doctor's appointment in Troy and so we spent some time alone together in the car.  We talked about things and Nathan started asking some questions that make me realize that he is pretty smart.  It is rare that we can have these one-on-one discussions with his two brothers and his Dad in the house, so it was pretty nice.

He asked me, "Why don't we have a windmill in our yard?  We could make our own electric and then you wouldn't have to pay an electric bill."  I told him that I don't think they are allowed in town & they were probably pretty expensive to set up.  Of course he asked why we were not allowed to have them in town.  I told him that there are probably rules against it.  He asked why there are rules and I explained that you have to have rules so that one person cannot do something that the entire town dislikes.  Then he asked for an example and I can't remember what I told him.  He asks how much a windmill costs?  I told him that I did not know, but heard they were expensive.  He then asked if I didn't have to pay an electric bill, wouldn't that save me enough money to pay for a windmill?

Then he asks, "What would happen if we ran out of water?"  I asked what he meant and he clarified that what if all the water towers, wells, lakes and rivers run dry.  I told him that if there was still water in the ocean that we might be able to filter it somehow to remove the salt and make it drinkable.  That would mean wars would be fought over control of the water.  He asked why we can't drink salt water so I had to tell him that I wasn't sure of the scientific reason, but salt water will just make you more thirsty.  Then has asks why we just can't drink pop, Gatorade or milk.  I told him that pop and Gatorade are all made with water and that if the water is gone, the milk would be too.  He asked why.  I told him that if we don't have water we will die and so will the cows that give us milk.  He started to ask why, when you could almost see it click for him.  He said that cows would have to have water to make milk.

He had several other good questions, but those were the two subjects that stuck in my head the most.  I was proud of him for asking all these deep questions.  Maybe I am not screwing up this parenting thing as much as I think I am sometimes.