The Brain of Shawn

Last night, I found myself driving home after dark with our youngest daughter. Going for a ride in Daddy’s truck is a special treat, and apart from the loud exhaust, rusty body, and non-existent shocks, I can understand why. My old truck rocks. It’s a stick shift, and Daddy drives it kinda rough — great fun.

Anyway, the really cool part is that as we walked into the house, I thought I’d give her my “look at Venus” speech. My whole family hears it all the time, but I thought maybe I’d spark some emotion in my youngest.

It turns out I was right on the money. I called Lizzie to the front of the house, away from the porch light. I pointed up to the west, and said, “Lizzie, do you see that really bright star over there?”

“Uh huh.”

I was tickled that she said it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “That’s not really a star, it’s a planet, like Earth is a planet.”

“Really?!?!”

“Yep. It’s name is Venus, and it’s not as big as Earth, but it shines really bright so it looks like a star.”

“Wow, cool!”

She was actually excited about knowing it was a planet. The coolest part was when we went inside, and Lizzie ran to Donna. “Mommy, did you know that really bright star is a planet? It’s name is Vee-Nuts!”

I love my family.