What Did You Learn Today?

     It is a simple question.  My husband pops it at the dinner table nearly every night.  The children supply the same answers every night.  We like routine.  Enzo will say, "Nothing".  Aston will say,"I don't remember what I learned today".  Enzo will say, "If you can't remember it, you didn't learn it, so you didn't learn anything".  I will flash Enzo death eyes.  Clara will wiggle a little in her seat before saying, drum roll please, "Nothing".  I will offer up something stupid like,"I learned that grabbing the wood stove with just my sleeve pulled down over my hand is still a bad idea", then ask Ariel, "did you learn anything today, Sweetie?"  He'll say, "Nothing".

     Of course they didn't learn "Nothing" (the kids anyway).  They just like to recite their entire day when Ariel and I are engaged in a separate, adult conversation.  Apparently, interruption is a key ingredient in information recall.  Enzo was on a fantastic roll last night as Ariel and I went over the mystery of the disappearing brick of mozzarella cheese.  Enzo told us all about the temperatures on Mercury and Venus.  He told us about the terrain on Mars.  He explained the significance of the size of Jupiter.  I interjected, "And you don't learn anything at school!"

     He gave a frustrated, "Ugh, I DON'T.  I learned all of this in second grade.  I haven't learned anything since second grade!" and continued merrily on with his lecture.  He gave the history of Earth's formation and said that if you applied this information to Mars's moon it would show that Mars's moon will support life someday.  Then he was positively radiating excitement as he exploded,"With the ability of space travel, and another inhabitable planet WE could be intergalactic invaders!!!  MOM!!! WE WOULD BE THE ALIENS!!!!! Oh I wish I had a crystal ball so I could know if this will happen in my lifetime.  I want to be an alien SOOO bad!"

     I don't know if there is some sort of nerd rating system, but I'd bet Enzo would rank very high on that scale and I couldn't be prouder!