Ooops...

Since the only people that read this already know me, you are aware that I have two children. Both of them are very good children. Sometimes I think people think I am a good mom, when, in actuality, my kids are just good kids. I don't think we do anything that extraordinary. God just blessed us with good girls.

Anyway, I have a specific point to this post. I am a little frightened of my children. Not frightened in an-are-they-going-to-stab-me-with-sharp-implements-when-I'm-not-looking-because-I-wouldn't-let-them-have-juice sort of way. It's really more of a these-kids-are-way-smarter-than-me-and-I-could-really-screw-them-up way. Let me provide you with an example.

A few days ago, Sarahbug was up from nap earlier than BigE. We were sitting on the couch. I was reading email and Facebook. Sarahbug was watching Oprah. Yes, I know. Oprah is not the best show for a almost-two-year-old to be watching, but, I honestly didn't think about it being on. I was paying no attention. She was sitting on my lap, perfectly content. As I was rabidly devouring the status updates of a bunch of people I rarely speak to in real life, I heard her say, "Ewwww! Icky!"

Very few things make my younger child spontaneously say, "Ewww! Icky!" I glanced at her. Her face had a look on it that can only be described as disgust. So, I glanced at the TV. Lo an behold, Oprah was doing an episode on slaughterhouses. Yeah. Lovely. At this point, they were using a chainsaw to slice a cow (minus head, skin, and other body parts) in half. Yum. Sarah turns to me and states, very clearly might I add, "Icky. Cow bad. Cut the cow. Yuck. Sad cow." Hmmm...I didn't expect her to draw the conclusion. I doubt I would have connected the fully alive and happily chewing cow that was at the beginning of the episode, and the currently being sawed in half carcass hanging from a hook. At least not at 21 months old. I changed the channel rapidly. Well, I mistakenly thought, that's over. Alas, it was not.

The next day I decided to read her a bedtime story about farm animals. As soon as we reached the section about cows, sure enough, "Mommy. Man cut cows. Ewww. Icky." Yes, my daughter was remembering the slaughterhouse show from the day before. Great. Now, she sees a cow and remembers a slaughterhouse. Nothing like drawing a good connection. As soon as Sarah figures out that hamburgers come from cows, she'll be vegan.

So, how does this make me frightened of my children? Well, it's actually quite simple. My 21 month old can reach the conclusion that the happy cow at the beginning of the show is the sad cow at the end. Now I have to worry about EVERYTHING she sees. I have been on guard with what BigE sees for awhile now. But not this early. For her, we had to guard what she heard. Now I have to guard what one sees and one hears. How in the world do I do that??? How do I prevent my children from seeing or hearing anything??? I already screw up. Imagine what will happen when they are older and really get it! I have two children that remember everything. Do you know how many things I do during a day that I want them to forget? How is it possible to get them safely to adulthood without majorly screwing them up? I don't think I can do it.