The distorting effects of perspective

Perspective.  It's a funny thing.  One of the things that continually both amuses and frustrates the heck out of me about raising the geeklings is their extraordinarily different perspective on the world (known in the vernacular as "kids say the darndest things").  It's like a giant magnifying glass that illustrates just how individual everyone's view of things is.

This week, for example, my youngest son has developed an obsession with the bakery.  Oh and yes, they are twins - one is still younger.  Anyway, returning to the bakery.  On Monday, his school class took a trip to the local shops where they toured the green grocer, butcher and bakery - the idea of this trip was to develop real world numbers skills, a greater understanding of commerce etc., and procure healthy produce with which the children would prepare their own lunches the following day.  All very good, laudable educational goals.

But the bakery, in their sneaky, capitalistic way, managed to corrupt my child.  They gave him a free finger bun.  So yesterday afternoon when I picked him up from school, the first words out of his mouth were "Mummy, can we go to the bakery after school? I'm hungry.".  No child, you can have some fruit from home.  "But I WANT TO GO TO THE BAKERY!".  Much screaming and tantrums ensued, due to our entirely different perspectives on the matter - I felt it would be a waste of money to buy a snack at the bakery when there was perfectly good food at home, and Geekling V2b felt anything other than a finger bun really wouldn't suffice.

Naturally, we did eventually manage to overcome this and get through the afternoon.  However, the subject arose again as he was drifting off to sleep and said to me "Mummy, can we go to the bakery TOMORROW after school?".  No child, now go to sleep.  Finally, he was peacefully slumbering, and I thought perhaps I could finally have a rest from hearing about the wonders of the bakery.

3am.  "Mummy...mummy....".  I can hear this small but persistent voice.  Shaking myself out of dream land I sleepily inquired as to what the issue was. "Can we please go to the bakery after school tomorrow?".

I guess from his perspective it was a perfectly reasonable question at a perfectly appropriate time...?!