Conversations with a Homeschooled Child

T:  You know who's cool?

RB: No. Who?

T: Me, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Irving Berlin, and Charles Langlade.

RB: Charles who?

T: Langlade, his only regret is that fought in only 99 battles.  I learned about him in Michigan History.

RB: What?

T: Yeah those were his last words. "My only regret is that I only fought in 99 battles."  People in Wisconsin say his name Long-Laid, but it's a French name and should be said Lan-glade.

RB: Oh.

T: George Washington is cool too, but I don't like him.

RB: Huh?

T: His wife was ugly.

RB: What?

T: He was shot with an arrow, but he was wearing so many clothes, it just stuck into his coat.

RB: Who?

T: George Washington.  There's a lot of stuff about him to learn.  You might think you know everything about him, but there's always something else.

RB: Oooo-kay.

T: Abraham Lincoln's wife was kinda cute.  She was short and fat, but still kinda cute.  He was tall and skinny.

RB: Hmmm..

T:  She was a rich city girl and he was a poor country boy.

RB: He became President though.

T: Yeah.  He was funny too.  That's why everybody liked him, not because of his looks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A: Dad, guess what?

RB: 42?

A: No, Dad.  That's the answer to life, the universe and everything.  Guess what I'm doing today.

My son, A is sixteen.  That he made the connection to Douglas Adams tickled me, worried me, and made me proud at the same time.

RB: I don't know, oxidizing food into energy and poop?

A: No, Dad. That's just digestion.  I'm taking Level II driving.

RB:  Oh.

So soon.  Heck it seems like just yesterday I was taking the training wheels off his bike.