Going to space

My son told me in the car the other day that he was learning about space in school recently. When asked what he was learning, he began sharing various facts that he was picking up. For example, when astronauts go into space they go in a space shuttle. Very good! And when their eyes are open they are on the earth, but when they are in space their eyes are closed. Not quite sure what that means, but good to know.

After a short silence he announced to me that someday he wants to go to space. The conversation went something like this:

Him: “Daddy, someday I also want to go into space.”
Me: “How would you get there?”
Him: “In a space shuttle, silly.”
Me: “And what would you do in space?”
Him: “I would go to Bluto.” (I was pretty sure he meant Pluto, since Bluto is a character on Popeye, and I don’t think he lives in space.)
Me: “Do you mean Pluto?”
Him: “No, daaaaaad! (in a ‘duh!’ kind of tone like everyone knows that is not right) I want to go to BLUE-TOE! (with emphasis).
Me: “And what would you do there?”
Him: “I would push the red button.”
Me: “And what would that do?”
Him: “It would make me go down of course.”
Me: “I see. And then what would you do?”
Him: “I would walk around Bluto for a while and see some people. Then I would come back up.”
Me: “How would you come back up?”
Him: “I would push the GREEEEN button. (again, in that ‘duh’ kind of tone like he just could not believe I did not know that)”
Me: “And then what would you do?”
Him: “I would push the blue button and come back to earth (pronounced by him as URT with no ‘th’ sound at the end, only a ‘t’ sound).”
Me: “Why is the button to make you come back to earth blue?”
Him: “Because most of the earth is made up of blue water!”

If only everything in life were as simple as pushing the right colored button to get done what we want or to go where we want. I suppose in the mind of a child it really is that simple. It is only us adults that seem to make it all so much harder than it needs to be.