Me: So, what’s today?
The boy: Today is Tuesday, August 23.
Me: Anything special about it?
The boy: It’s my birthday!
Me: How do you know?
The boy: I know because today I got to go Dunkin Donuts, which I never do, and I gotvpresents, and I know it’s my birthday because my mommy told me.
Me: What presents?
The boy: I’ve gotten a physics discovery science kit and I got a Greek myths book.
Me: Is that it?
The boy: Those are my presents so far. Yeah.
Me: Do you think more are coming?
The boy: Yes. Yes, I do.
Me: How can you be sure?
The boy: Because today I saw a box of presents under your bed.
Me: How do you know they aren’t for your sister’s birthday on Thursday?
The boy: I could tell by how they were wrapped.
Me: How would you tell?
The boy: There was some wrapped for boys and some for girls.
Me: Huh?
The boy: There was some with pink wrapping paper.
Me: I thought you liked pink.
The boy: I hate it.
Me: How will you be spending your birthday?
The boy: Doing science experiments.
Me: What are you working right now?
The boy: I’m working on a thing called “Change Your Ears Around.” [From 101 Great Science Experiments]
Me: We might go to a museum, too, right?
The boy: Yeah.
Me: What do you like to do these days?
The boy: What do I like to do these days? I don’t know.
Me: For fun.
The boy: I don’t know. Play with friends, I guess. Doing science stuff.
Me: What are your favorite books?
The boy: I don’t know.
Me: You’ve read a ton of books.
The boy: Yeah, so, I can’t remember some of them because I’ve read so many books. I like them all.
Me: What are a few things you’ve read recently.
The boy: I liked Hunchback of Notre Dame. I liked Alex Rider. I liked The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I also liked You Wouldn’t Want to be Joan of Arc: A Mission You Might Want to Miss. I liked the Horrible Histories books, too.
Me: What are your favorite things to watch?
The boy: Phineas and Ferb. Wipeout. Wizards of Waverly Place. A.N.T. Farm.
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
The boy: I want to be an engineer.
The girl: Seriously! That’s a bad idea.
Me: Why! It’s a good idea! Engineer is a terrific job.
The girl: No! Because you can’t go to the bathroom because you’re driving a train. You can’t just say, “I’m going to stop and go to the bathroom!”
The boy: Engineers get paid well.
Me: What kind of engineer?
The boy: I don’t know. Any kind of engineer.
The girl: A train engineer?
The boy: No. I meant a technical engineer.
The girl: Oh! So you can stop and go to the bathroom! That’s better. Okay. Mom, you can erase that.
The boy: Technical engineers get paid well.And it’s a fun job.
The girl: Yeah, better than train engineers. And you can go to the bathroom. You can’t go to the bathroom if you’re a train engineer.
The boy: You can go to the bathroom between stops.
Me: What are you looking forward to in third grade?
The boy: Having Mr. Schersten. Learning new stuff and being in a new class. I know we’re going to study the planets and math and that kind of stuff.
Me: Don’t you get a special day in third grade? Don’t I have to start sewing?
The boy: Oh, yeah! There’s Colonial Day. So we’re going to learn about history.
Me: Any grand pronouncements?
The boy: No. What’s a prouncement again?
Me: I explain this every year! Any big statements?
The boy: Yea! I’m eight!
Me: Is that it? Anything else to say to your public?
The boy: Good-bye! See you next year when I’m nine!
