My Kid Just Said… #23

Posted under "MY KID JUST SAID..."

“I want to be a fiweman. So I can wescue people.”
-Lucas
(2013, 3.5 years old)
 

Sometimes my kids say things to me that are so moving to me that I catch myself, the look I’m wearing on my face. Because sometimes the aftermath of a heart-microwaving statement or moment is me sitting there, still, staring. I’ll soften or change my expression as I realize that they might mistake it for disapproval or something bad, and simply not understand what wonder looks like when it’s combined with pride or joy. My brow furrowed against disbelief. My head shaking slowly as I’m trying to scan for and reconnect with reality.

This was one of those moments for me.

Let me tell you a little of the background story behind my son, Lucas’, words.

A week ago, my family and Charlie’s spent the weekend up near Santa Barbara, at Hyundai’s amazing and unforgettable Epic Playdate event. Along with the fun of covering ourselves and fifty or so kids in tinfoil and whipped cream (more on that in another post very soon), they had a paramedic and fireman on hand for the event.
 

Child Watching Fireman Hyundai Epic Playdate
 

My 3.5yo son was in awe of them. He kept referring to them collectively as “the policemen,” which we gave up on trying to correct because we understood what he meant and because we knew he understood it was a fireman and a paramedic. And because it had risen to Level Ridiculous on the adorable-o-meter.

lucas watching paramedic closely

He shadowed them. Shy and awkward, suddenly picking at leaves and looking away disinterestedly when they looked over at him and caught him staring.

They got what was going on and… they started to play with him. Together, they kicked around a beach ball bigger than Lucas. You could have measured bananas with his smile. I squeezed my wife tighter as we watched.

He followed them around the entire trip.

And then he said he wanted to wescue people.
 

NOT-an-advertisment disclaimer: This particular post is NOT sponsored (except maybe by my son’s bottomless cuteness). This was brought you by ME and only me. Hyundai did not pay for me to write this, and neither did any firemen or EMTs. My family and I just had that good a time and the moment was that special that I had to share it. Thanks, Hyundai, for having us. And thanks to the “policemen.”

 

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Parents are like pretzels.

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This is where YOU can post YOUR kid’s quotes. Go for it!
 

19 Comments

  • What a cutie!! My 3 year old daughter has to arrive to her doctor’s appointment in full costume, complete with pink stethoscope. It’s crazy to think that our little ones COULD grow up and eventually become these wonderful life-saving people.

  • I love when I come home from class or clinical, and my daughter Liberty wants to play with my gear…

    (though I have to keep a close eye because I have a top-tier stethoscope…. and it is not cheap)

    • Andy says:

      Aw man! But those are the funnest! Self-inflicted deafness was practically a hobby for me whenever I was around stethoscopes. 😉

  • JeninCanada says:

    Yaaay Lucas! A life of service to your fellow people is a wonderful life indeed. If you do walk down that road I hope that you have few bad days and many many good ones.

    • Andy says:

      I hope so too. As proud as I was, my wife and I crapped in our metaphorical pants a little at the dangerousness of such a chosen profession. Ha ha!

  • Beth says:

    That is sooooooo sweet!

  • Carla says:

    I wish we as adults could stay that pure and agenda free.

  • Kelly Snell says:

    This brought tears to my eyes. Not just what Lucas said, but what you wrote about it.

    “I’ll soften or change my expression as I realize that they might mistake it for disapproval or something bad, and simply not understand what wonder looks like when it’s combined with pride or joy. My brow furrowed against disbelief. My head shaking slowly as I’m trying to scan for and reconnect with reality.”

    That there, that slayed me. I totally understand exactly the feeling you’re describing here. Children are amazing, aren’t they. Forces to be reckoned with.

    • Andy says:

      Ah thanks! Getting misty reading that it made you so. Softy alert! Ugh. I’m glad it touched you and felt it enough that it brought your own experiences to mind. You made my day.

  • Jo says:

    Adorable! My daughter wants to be an EMT, but she’s 16, not 3.5. And she just recently became interested after seeing a friend of ours out-and-about in an EMT uniform talking about taking his test soon. Out of the blue she said, “That’s what I want to be.” I was kind of in shock because she’s a sophomore in high school and she hasn’t really shown any interest in anything thus far (as far as a career) and I was actually beginning to worry…she’s gonna rock at it! She is the calm, collective type and isn’t sqeamish at all…unlike me, I fall to pieces in a crisis…

    • Andy says:

      That’s very rad about your daughter! Ha ha! I’m approaching that point too as a parent (my eldest 14) where my “wondering what he’ll be” is starting to turn into an anxiousness to know what he’ll want to do and wind up doing. 😉

  • Laurie says:

    Oh goodness, can he get any cuter! what a sweetie!

    • Andy says:

      We’re doing research online about how to stop the cuteness. It’s reaching pandemic levels. 😉

  • Jamie says:

    yeah, I teared up. very sweet indeed.

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