My Seussical Life for 2005 July 10

I've tried to raise my boys as nice, pacifist human beings. I've never bought them guns, not even water guns. I do try to be reasonable, though. I don't forbid them to play with their friends' toy guns, and they have received a handful of water guns that we use for water games outside. Even with all my efforts, Atticus and Samuel have found many alternatives for symbolic gun play, despite my attempts to avoid having toy guns in our home. They've used sticks, Duplos, vacuum accessories, and today, they were using train tracks. But there was a strangely reassuring moment as I watched them shoot at random objects in the room. When Samuel aimed his "gun" at me and made shooting noises, Atticus turned in alarm to face him. "Samuel," he said, "you've shot your own mother!!"