This Kid's Been Around the World a Time or Two

Do other mothers of three-year-olds have bedtime conversations like this?

Charlie: I want to go to Germany. There are lots of cows and apples there.

Me: Cows and apples?

Charlie: Remember how there were lots of cows and I picked some apples and threw them at the baby cows mouths?

Me: Oh, that was Switzerland, not Germany. Do you remember riding the paddleboat steamer on Lake Lucerne?

Charlie: Yes. But I want to ride on the boat where we wore blue capes and water sprayed in my face. And I had to hide under your cape because I was getting soaking wet.

Me: Oh, that was at Niagara Falls this summer. Do you want to go there again?

Charlie: No, I want to go to that place where I got Bulls-Eye. Remember?

Me: Bulls-Eye?

Charlie: You know! Bulls-Eye! With Buzz Lightyear.

Me, trying hard to keep up: Oh, Bulls-Eye, Woody's horse. Do you mean that little plastic push horse? We bought that in Portugal.

Charlie: Yes, Portugal. But we should have bought two, in case one broke. [which it did, less than one hour after the purchase] I want to go to that place where we rode in the long canoe.

Me: Are you talking about the time when we paddled the kayaks in Idaho?

Charlie: No! Not the kayaks, the canoe, the long canoe!

Me, frantically searching my brain for something resembling a long canoe: Ummm...

Charlie: Never mind. I want to go back to Belgium. Because we had a big garage there and Qiu Qiu and me could ride our bikes inside.

Me: When Daddy builds our new house, he will make a big garage or maybe even a big barn, and then you and Qiu Qiu can ride your bikes inside.

Charlie: And he will build me a big playground in the backyard?

Me, wanting to avoid the McDonald's playland at all costs: Sure.

Charlie: Okay.