Four is not a discreet age

A and I had a conversation recently. He said, "L has such pretty hair that I think he should be a girl."

And I explained that yes, L had pretty hair, but that no, it didn't work that way. L was a boy and he would remain a boy. "But we can make him a girl," A said so I explained that L had a penis just like A did, that boys were boys because they had penises, and that L was going to continue to have a penis and be a boy just like A.

Of course, per Chekhov, you don't put a gun on the mantel in Act 1 without it being fired in Act 3.

So I picked A up from school yesterday and the aide stopped me. "Your boy is so funny." Apparently, there had been some gender divisions on the playground, where the boys were going to do some things without the girls and there was some discussion as to who qualified. Never fear, A was there.

"Listen everybody," he announced. "Wait and listen to me. Boys are boys because they have penises, and girls are girls because they do not have penises. So the boys have the penises." The aide apparently whooshed them all inside without further discussion--or gender verification--but she wanted to know where he'd come up with that bit of information.