Rick’s Rants and Raves

My 8 year old son and I had a conversation this evening about the easter bunny. We were taking some old easter baskets to my mother, and so the easter bunny concept was foremost on his mind. It went something like this:

Son: Dad, do you put out our easter baskets?
Me: Yup.
Son: I don’t think you do. Are you telling the truth?
Me: Yes, I’m telling you the truth. I put out your easter baskets.
Son: I don’t think you’re telling me the truth.
Me: What makes you say that?
Son: I remember an easter when mommy was sick, and there was chocolate and candy all around the house. I don’t think you would do that.
Me: Really?
Son: Yeah, and we didn’t have any of that stuff in the house the day before.
Me: We have a big house. You don’t think I could hide it somewhere?
Son: No, and you didn’t go shopping for it before hand.
Me: So who put all that candy out?
Son: The easter bunny
Me: Let me get this straight. You didn’t see me go shopping. You didn’t see the candy in the house. You don’t think I’m capable of hiding candy around the house. So that means I didn’t do it, and the easter bunny did?
Son: Yup.
Me: OK.

We continued to talk a bit about the easter bunny, and putting stuff in his room at night. I tried to convince him that he is such a sound sleeper that I could do almost anything in his room (“You couldn’t throw a football and break my window! I’d hear that!”), but he would hear none of it. I should have known this was a losing battle: this boy was convinced for years that he never slept at night–that he had simply closed his eyes for a moment, and then it was daylight!