I sometimes worry about gaps in my children’s understanding about the world. So, I occasionally quiz them on the basics, just to make sure I haven’t skipped something important along the way. I was filling out a form yesterday and decided to call Gideon in to help with a few of the answers since the form was about him.

“Gideon, what is your birthday?” I asked.

He hesitated and thought for a long time staring up at the ceiling.

“Um, you know, just when were you born? Month, Day, Year.”

He nodded, “Oh, okay. Month,” he announced confidently.

I blinked at him. “…what?”

“Month?” he said again, this time a bit quieter.

“Gideon, what are you talking about?”

“Oh!” he laughed at himself, “Okay, no no, wait.” He waved his hands in the air as if trying to erase an invisible whiteboard. “Not Month. I mean Year! It’s Year, isn’t it?”

I put my pen down and sighed into my hands, “Okay. Okay, let’s start over… from the very beginning…”