Monday through Friday Carter and I have lunch together before he heads off to his afternoon preschool. Almost everyday over our meal Carter brings up “the people on the other side of the earth”. I think he is quite enthralled with the idea that while we are awake, they are asleep. He refers to their homes as “habitats” as if they are of a different species. To him, it seems, the “other people” are of a nocturnal variety, for how can they be sleeping while it is daytime for us? No amount of explanation or discussion on rotating axes, no amount of puppetry with globes and flashlights will change his mind.
He wonders about them. He wonders about them frequently. He questions what they may be doing. He usually asks me a specific question.
carter: Is there a little boy getting up out of bed for a drink of water because he woke up and is thirsty, on the other side of the earth?
me: Yes, Carter there probably is.
carter: Momma, is there a little boy who just woke up and is going pee in a toilet on the other side of the earth?
me: Yes, I imagine there probably is. Maybe it is even the same little boy.
Day after day, sandwich after sandwich, we sit and eat and think about you. Assuming you are of the “other people”, the nocturnal people, who reside on the other side of our great earth.
Shoes On The Wrong Feet 
Hey, that’s us! Here in Germany, we are about 9 time zones away from you. So during your lunchtime, I am usually struggling to get Olivia to bed. Hee hee. It’s great that he has been thinking about this! It’s not easy for kids to understand.
I will be sure to think of you and hope that Olivia is quietly and happily going off to bed the next time Carter and I are having lunch and discussing “you people over there”. 🙂
That is so funny!!! You can tell Carter that the whole thought of it mesmerizes me to!!!
It really is a mind blowing concept. I do enjoy the discussion we have about the other side of the earth and those who live there.
It is a joy to read your son’s thoughts. He is like my son, curious and full of adventures. I bet we were like them too when we were their age. Wonderful post.
I bet we were. Curiosity is a great thing to be plagued with.
I’m not quite the opposite side of the world I think, but I’m a pretty long way away! One of the things that really gets me is the different seasons, so my Uncle in New Zealand is just heading into summer while we’re getting blown about in autumn!
Yup, maybe over lunch today I will bring up the difference in seasons to Carter and watch him try to process that. 🙂
Kids are so full of questions, aren’t they? I love it when my kids hook into something that fascinates them even though I think whatever it is they’re hooked on is normal and perfectly understandable with a basic explanation. They have just fantastic minds!
I have a hard time explaining the whole solar system, planets, moon, sun, earth and how their position and rotation have such a cause and effect on everything. Tides is a big one that we talk a lot about and I keep having to look up information on it. The more the kids grow and ask questions the more I realize how little I know about such basic things that are around me.
But at least their questions are prompting you to learn. I’ve learned so much since my kids started talking. I’m forever researching things at night after they go to bed so that I can answer their questions the next morning. But there’s always something else that they want to know. I love their curiosity.
Since my boys have started with the constant question asking, I realize just how little I really know about any one thing. It is fun to research about the topics they are interested in and be able to answer their questions.
Aw that’s so lovely! I love to see the look of puzzlement on my little boy’s face when you explain something totally mind-blowing to him like that (and then the slow look of understanding, often many months later, when he finally gets it!). We’re in France – other side of the world from you? If so you can tell Carter there’s a little boy here refusing to go in the bath and wash his hair about the time he’s having his breakfast! Great post 🙂
Hahaha – you are eight hours ahead of us so that is about right. Hopefully your little boy is happily sleeping and you are getting some down time while Carter and I are thinking of you during our lunch time chat. I will let Carter know that there is a little boy on the other side of the earth who hates getting his hair washed just as much as he does. 🙂