Forever is a Long Time

Declan just came into my office, crying hysterically because Erika was planning on keeping his knight helmet "forever." He wasn't upset that she was playing with it, but the thought of her holding on to it forever was just too much for him to bear.

The kids use this as a pretty effective threat against each other--Declan is just as guilty as any of the others. And it truly amazes me how effective it really is. Because it doesn't take a fortune-teller to know that it only takes 8.2 minutes for Erika to tire of the knight helmet, or Declan to tire of the toy cell phone, or Hilary to tire of the Mickey Mouse figures, or Ronan to tire of the "I Love Shabbat" board book, or Aaron to tire of the purple sequined purse, or Gretchen to tire of the baby doll... well, okay, maybe Gretchen could hold on to the baby doll forever.

I know that kids have no real sense of time, but I guess they don't have any real sense of logic either. It just isn't feasible to hold on to a toy very long around here, between mealtimes and baths and school and sleep.

Of course, kids don't have great memories either, so this whole post is probably moot.