Legal limits

Dash, as he will tell anyone within a two-mile radius, repeatedly and at top volume, will be six in six days. He's quite excited.

As well as getting the new blue light saber as used by Anakin Skywalker himself in person before he gave it to Target to sell to me, and some other stuff Dash knows is there but has not been specified (it's a Leapster to keep him quiet on flights and put off the day of the DS Lite a bit longer, and some books), and the Star Wars party that's slowly coming together but might only have four boys in attendence, the big thing he's excited about is the fact that he'll be allowed have chewing gum.

At some point in the distant past, maybe when he was four or so, he asked when he'd be old enough to have chewing gum, and picking some far-off era I couldn't even imagine, I took a number out of the air and said "When you're six." This conversation was apparently recorded in that part of the brain children use to keep things you said that you might want to deny or regret later, and as far as he's concerned, it's gospel. You can drive when you're 16, you can drink when you're 21, and you can chew chewing gum when you're 6. Thus spake the mother, and thus it is now and for ever.

This morning he suggested helpfully that the next time I'm shopping, I might want to pick up a packet of chewing gum. Just in case they didn't want to sell it to me on its own; he was afraid there might be some minimum-item requirement in Safeway. So I put "Chewing gum for Dash" on my shopping list, and he was quite mollified. (He just wants the sugar-free minty kind that his dad and I like. He doesn't know about terrible things like Juicy Fruit. (While perusing the various available gums at the checkout, I reflected on how close our society has come to Willy Wonka's ideal - there were flavours called Strawberry Shortcake, Key Lime Pie, and Mint Chocolate Chip, so that you can have your whole dessert for zero calories.))

So now there's a pack of very special chewing gum awaiting its moment to shine. If the chewing gum police come to the house, I can assure them that he is waiting impatiently till next Tuesday to break into it.