THIS DAMN WAR!

Being a little crafty over the weekend with our new caterpillar and crocodile scissors, talking about the weather and Halloween and how mine is better than yours, no mine, no MINE, NO MINE!!! And then Chago starts talking about Narnia (his new all-time favorite movie) and he asks me to explain why the children were running into a shelter in the beginning of the movie. So, very carefully, and not particularly liking these waters all that much, I tread through a very vague definition of war (i.e., groups of people who disagree about something so much and have become so frustrated because the other side won't even listen anymore that they don't know what else to do except to fight with each other about it even though there's very little chance that this will actually solve the problem that started the whole disagreement in the first place), which seemed to be satisfactory enough at the time until we're driving to work this morning and I'm listening to NPR and there's some reference or another to the current administration's ridiculous take on "staying the course" (see my other posting) in Iraq to which, in a moment of unreserved aggravation partially due to the sun reflecting directly into my eyes off the shiny new Escalade with the too-dark tint in front of me, and partially due to the fact that NO ONE should be allowed to drive in the fast lane unless your speed is only evenly divisible by, oh I don't know, 50!!! so I furiously punch the button to change the station and mumble something relatively incoherent about "this damn war," and that's when Chago says, "Mama, don't be sad. Saia and I won't fight anymore so you won't have to worry about the war."

[Oh, baby, if only that's all it took.]