How to Confuse Little Minds

"What's that say?",  he said, gesturing towards the window with the "H-o-p-e" sign.  Trisha had given it to me as a Christmas ornament years ago, but I'd hung it in the window over the kitchen sink where it stays all year round. That way I am reminded daily to hope.

 (Incidentally, I discovered the best camera setting to enhance a dirty windows effect)

I was surprised he'd never asked about the sign before.  Maybe it was new to him because I'd cleaned all the cobwebs off of it. (there's a picture for you, the word "Hope" covered with cobwebs).  I'm not good at dusting window hanging things, they can collect dust for years before I notice.  Anyway,  Sawyer asked "what's that say?" and I answered "Hope" and then he said in a puzzled voice, "What does it say 'Hope' for?" and I answered, "Because we can have Hope that Jesus came to earth when he was a baby--"  but before I could finish, Kiki pointed out that Sawyer was really talking about something a few inches under the Hope sign.

 Sitting on the windowsill was his potted basil plant, that Kiki was so kind to have made a new sign for.

If I were him, I'd be intrigued what hoping in Jesus had to do with growing basil too. 

 So I nixed the story and said, "Oh, that. It says, 'Basil'".  And that was that.  Although it's not a bad idea to label my potted plants with the word 'Hope'. At the rate that they expire in this household, I'd say it's a pretty accurate classification.