Magic.

Over the past few weeks, Zack has been saying that when Rob and I were little, he (zack) didn't have a Mommy and a Daddy and that he was all alone. I tell him that he wasn't even around then, so he doesn't have to worry about it. This actually renders him speechless for a few minutes (a rarity, believe me!). Last night he started this conversation again, then he added that when Mommy and Daddy were little, they were with their Mommy and Daddy. I said "So do you know who our Mommes and Daddies are?"

Yes.

Who?

I don't know [This is a rather comon course of conversation].

Well, my Mommy and Daddy are Grandma and Papa, and Daddy's Mommy and Daddy are Nonni and Nonno.

But they're MY Grandma and Papa and Nonni and Nonno!

Yes, but they're also my Mommy and Daddy and Daddy's Mommy and Daddy.

By this point, he was sitting on my lap, and we had done another round or two of this. He was nearly in tears at this point, insisting that they are HIS Grandma and Papa, and Nonni and Nonno, not my Mommy and Daddy. There was just no room in his brain for these people to hold two roles, so I dropped it. It made me think that all these concepts that we adults take for granted are so difficult to acquire. That there is an awful lot in this world that is really, really difficult for these little guys and gals to understand. And that it's so very amazing how our brains and bodies grow to accommodate and ingest all the that we encounter in the world. One day a few neurons will grow some dendrites and make a connection with another neuron, and all of a sudden he'll understand that his grandparents are also Rob's and my parents. Magic.