My husband bought Sam some CD-ROM games with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Some time, in another blog, I'll get into whether I think my child should get help learning to read and do math from the computer.
But on Saturday, I was just trying to get the Clifford games installed and ready to go. Of course, because I really wanted to use the CD-ROM for the first time in, um, ever, it didn't work. Anytime I stuffed Clifford in, my computer shut off, then tried in vain to restart itself.
Sam, being Sam, was not very patient as I tried to fix the problem (and tried not to use any words I don't want her repeating). After about 10 minutes of her pestering, I told her to go get some toys and play near me in the room while I worked.
To my surprise, she actually did. After a few minutes, though, she wandered back over to me.
Sam: "Mommy, are you my conscience?"
Me (completely caught off guard): "I'm sorry, what??"
Sam: "I sayed, are you my conscience?"
Then I realized she was quoting a line from "Finding Nemo," when Dory and Marlin are in the pitch-black cavern trying to find the mask, and Dory doesn't recognize Marlin's voice when he talks to her.
Me (cracking up): "Well, yeah, I guess I am. At least until you're 18." I squeezed her shoulders and smooched her head. "Are you my conscience?"
Sam: "Yup."
And then I realized that she really is, in a way. Since I've become a mom, I've made a lot of decisions differently because of how the outcomes could affect my Sammy. A friend once told me, "Once you have kids, your life isn't yours to throw away anymore."
What kinds of decisions have you made differently since you became a parent? Do you find your spouse feels the same way?
If my nephew Finn (age 6) were my conscience, I'd eat nothing but cookies and I'd have a diabolical plan to take over the world.