On a different note. . .

Two conversations with Everett that I don't want to forget:

Everett, looking at a map of the world:
"What is this place?"

Me: That is South America. All of these places are called continents. We live here, in North America. This big one is Asia, this island is Australia, this funny one with the big round bump on the side is Africa, and this one that looks like fat tree branches is Europe.

Everett (looking confused): "My. . .up?"

Me: "No, Europe."

Everett: "Yeah. My up."

* * * * *

Everett and I were sitting on his bed. I was talking to him about the importance of saying personal prayers, and that Heavenly Father is always listening. He said he was ready to say his prayer.

I watched as he bowed his head and performed the signs of the cross (albeit incorrectly) and said a jumble of words having to do with God. I don't think he even knew what he was saying. All I knew was that he learned it from school, where they pray at the end of every class.

It was a great opportunity. Everett knows the name of our church, and he knows that there are different churches around town, so I explained that the school was at a different church from ours, and that they pray a little differently than we are used to. I told him it was okay to pray with them that way at class, and that we will pray at home the way we do at our church. This may be inconsistent, but there is no need to make things overly complicated for a three year old.

I've been wondering when he would start picking these things up. He is more observant than I thought! I am excited that he has the opportunity to go to school at a different church, because I want him to grow up with respect, admiration, and love for people who are different than him. This is a good starting point for him to be able to recognize and accept some of those differences, but for him to also begin to understand that we share a lot more similarities with other people than we might originally think.