I Don't Wanna Grow Up...

Our youngest has been extra cautious about spiders lately. The innocent non-scary ones hang out in the upper corners of our bathroom all the time. If he sees one in there, he won't go to the bathroom until I capture and release it back to the wild (the backyard). He especially gets nervous when they move. He anticipates where it might go inevitably expecting it to come his direction.


Its been a while since he's complained in his quiet, whiny-scared voice about a spider.

But today, out of the blue he approached me in his high, sad little voice accompanied by a pouty face, "I don't want to be a grown-up."

"Why?"

"Because then you'll be high enough to see the spiders."

Trying to make him feel better I asked, "Don't you think you won't be scared of spiders when you're a grown up?"

Not catching the double negative, he reiterated his stance about being forever scared of spiders, "Yesss."

There was a brief pause in our conversation as if he was reflecting momentarily on our conversation. Perhaps he was realizing he couldn't escape becoming a grown-up..and that it might not be so bad.

Then he said, with pouty face and quiet whiny voice, "Do you know what I like about being a kid?....

"...because it takes so long to be a grown-up."