Pizza in the Sky

When you hang around kids for an extended period of time, you end up getting asked a lot of questions.

"What are you making?"
"What are you putting in there?"
"Why?"
"Are you peeling it?"
"Are they done"
"Why?"
"Why do they have to cook?"
"Can I flip them?"
"Why?"
"Can I have some?"
"Can I have syrup too?"
"What is 12 + 3? 'Cause Tuck says it's 15."
"Why?"

Tonight, after having hawaiian pizza for supper, Brent was wandering around the kitchen in his usual distracted manner, his brow furrowed deeply as if pondering great mysteries. I was by the sink, loading the dishwasher.

"Cass, where does pizza come from?" He finally asked.

"Heaven." That's what immediately came to mind. But he was still thinking.

"Well, actually," I said casually, capitalizing on further opportunity for indoctrination, "it grows on trees."

"Trees?" He looked me a look that said "I know you're pulling my leg, but I'm enjoying it." "So the pizzas grow and you can just reach up and pick them off the tree?"

"Well, yeah. But the trees are re-ee-ally high. They grow up in the sky close to the sun, so that the cheese will melt."

A pretense of realization dawned on the sly face of Brent.

"As everyone knows, the moon is made of cheese," I continued, beginning to have fun reeling out my imagination, "and when it's full, they start grating it up until it gets smaller and smaller, and during the day, the sun melts the cheese, and the moon grows back, and it starts again. And every noon they harvest the pizzas."

"But how do they get them off if they're so high up?" Brent inquired.

"Helicopters, of course. And then they deliver them all over the world to all the pizzarias."

This seemed to satisfy, if not his curiousity, at least his imagination.

A few days ago I realized that I brush my teeth like Monk, with a mug of boiling water. I pour it over my toothbrush and down the sink. We usually don't have the water running in the sink, so I was using a mug of water anyway. I'm not sure how I started with boiled. But it keeps my toothbrush clean, and the sink semi-clean, so it must be worth it. Monk would not like our house, but I think I'm ok with it :)

On Friday I'm going to a conference with several others from Rzhishchiv. It's in Zhovti Vode (or however you spell that) several hours away. So I feel like it's my first "journey" in Ukraine-- exciting! It was going to be through the night by train, and that would have been a good deal excitinger of course...but I can't say I'm too sorry that plans have changed, seeing as Masha and Sveta got lice on the train last time they went. We have enough pets at home without lice.

So, I don't know if I'll understand a word of the conference, but it will be an experience, anyway. We'll leave Friday and be back Sunday.