Blogging away

I haven't posted in a long, long time, mostly because I felt as if every entry had to be a carefully composed mini-essay. I didn't really see the point of blogging; who would want to read my day-to-day thoughts besides my small circle of close friends and family, most of whom already hear them in tedious detail as soon as they cross my mind? Lately, however, I've read a number of blogs posted by total strangers, and have enjoyed them. So here goes...

Yesterday, I encouraged C. to tell my mom about a trip he and his dad took last weekend to Valley Forge. He went once in December for the anniversary of the march-in of the Continental Army, and then again last Saturday to do more drilling and musket-waving.

C: Which time should I tell her about? The second time?
Me: Yes, the second time. Last weekend.
C: You mean the anniversary?
Me: NO, I mean the second time.
C: But the second time was the anniversary.
Me: The second time was last weekend.
C: No, that was the third time.
(Pause, while my eyes narrow)
Me: Are you counting the time you went before you could walk as the first time?
C: Yeah.

Fortunately, I was having a good day. On a bad day, well, there would have been some shouting. I try to remember that it's just the way his brain works, but that knowledge doesn't always keep me from losing my cool. Sometimes he's honestly confused, and sometimes he's joking, but either way, his approach comes from a fundamental belief that his way of thinking is the way of thinking, and that if I didn't, say, realize right away that he would start counting his trips to Valley Forge in 1998, well, I was just being slow.