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Circus Elephants

Strep throat made its way back into our household, exactly one month after Ava had it the first time in 2014.  At least we know the drill...strep test, medicine for 10 days, new toothbrush, and done!  Even better, Ava likes the medicine, so it's not a fight to get her to take it twice daily.  G has managed to remain healthy over the last 4 months, so we are knocking on wood that it continues on this path!  Or, maybe his immune system is amazingly strong for such a little guy.  Who knows?!

So, with the arrival of strep throat last week, Ava couldn't go to school on Friday.  Grandpa Whitey was nice enough to help us out, so I brought her up to SSP before driving into work.  As we were driving on the lovely Hwy 3, I was observing that the snow had really melted down over the past few warmer days that we had.  And then I noticed an animal of some sort on the side of the road.  Dead.  And this is how the conversation went from there:

Me: I hope that's not a dog.
Ava: What?
Me: Oh, there was an animal on the side of the road.  I hope it wasn't a dog.  Maybe it was a coyote.
Ava: What's a coyote?

(and then we spent a few minutes pulling up images of coyotes and discussing their pointy ears)

Ava: Why do you hope it was a coyote, and not a dog?
Me: Well, because if it was a dog, chances are it was someone's pet.  And a coyote isn't.  We can't have coyotes for pets.
Ava: Why not?
Me (my God, she asks a lot of questions!): We can't have wild animals for pets, right?  We can't have a lion for a pet.  Or a wolf.  Or a giraffe.  Or an elephant.
Ava (not even skipping a beat): What about circus elephants?  They're pets of the circus.
Me: (silence)
Me: Hm. You might have a point, Ava.

And we drive on, discussing the merits of circus elephants.  During which, I decide to take a "shortcut" to get to Grandpa Whitey's house...I've been there a million times, so no big deal.  Except that I end up in West St Paul, not So St Paul.

Me:  Darn it, I took a wrong turn!
Ava: I'm going to be quiet now, Mommy.  You are spending too much time thinking about circus elephants, and not enough time thinking about Grandpa's house.  Can you get us out of here?
Me:  Um, yeah!  Stop distracting me, Ava!!  (Generally she would ask me to take out my Garmin, so she knows we're not lost.  She must have had more confidence in me this time.)

Eventually we made it to Grandpa's house, but had a nice detour along the way.  Ava also mentioned to me that she's so smart, she should be in 2nd grade, and not Kindergarten.

We're going to have our hands full! ;)

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