"Talk is Cheap"

Sometimes I stop and really think about how lucky I am. Sure, we've got a knee-wobbling hospital bill hanging over our heads from Connor's recent stint in sick bay, we're facing the uncertainty of where we'll be next year and how the hell we'll make a living, and we're currently maxing out the possibilities of our "getting by on the kindness of strangers" budget, but life is good — well, for me and Connor, at least. Stacey's gotta go to work every day, the poor lass.

Today was a gorgeous day, with temperatures hovering in the low 70s and just enough clouds in the sky to keep the impending heat of summer at bay. After a few routine errands, Connor and I headed to the playground. For most of the time we spent there, we had the slide, swings and sand all to ourselves. After about 45 minutes, a mom with two kids showed up — a 14-month-old and a six-year-old. With her attention focused solely on the younger of the two siblings, we found ourselves with a new playmate. Connor was jealous of this kid's sandbox toys since figuring out new ways to get sand in my shoes is one of his favorite pasttimes. Our new acquaintance was gracious anough to let Connor play with his shovel and dumptruck, but, the tradeoff was that this boy became Connor's play boss.

"We're going to fill up this bucket, okay," he'd say, and Connor would politely oblige, fulfilling every duty he was instructed to complete.

After playing for a while, the boy decided that they needed to bury the dumptruck in the sand. Realizing that Connor wasn't understanding what he wanted him to do, he said, "we're gonna bury it — you know, like they do to people when they die?"

His mom, who had been oblivious to her elder son to this point, quickly snapped to attention and scolded him.

I understood her concern, but couldn't stop laughing. Suddenly, I had a realization: If Connor spends enough time around other kids, he'll learn about everything that we're scared to talk about with him.

Suddenly, daycare is starting to look more appealing.