Ah, kids do go through their many phases. From the time they are about eight months old, you have the “ball” obsession, the bubble phase, undying love of Elmo stage, it’s endless. As they grow they gain and lose love for certain objects, people, characters and toys so often, it’s hard to keep track. Since starting preschool last year we have been through everything from potty refusal to being afraid of the dark, and At-man has conquered them all.

About a week ago we began the journey on to a new phase, one I never saw coming. At-man now is convinced he is from Mexico, hence marking the beginning of our “Mexico Phase”. For those of you who are familiar with the movie “American Pie” and the character who starts every sentence with “It’s like this one time, at band camp…” you will know what I’m going through simply by replacing the words “band camp” with the word “Mexico”. As we ride in the car running our daily errands, I hear a little voice pipe up from the backseat…”Mommy? One time when I was little…in Mexico, we had a car.” Really? “Yea, and when I was in Mexico, we lived in our old house.” Hmmm. “But sweet pea, our old house is right here, in the same town we have always lived in.” “O.K. mommy. But when I was little…in Mexico, we used solar panels to turn on the lights.” “O.K., I guess if that’s how you did it in Mexico, that’s cool.” “What’s for dinner mommy?” “Quesadillas.” “Yuck, that’s not what we used to eat in Mexico…”

At-man is lucky to achieve a “subtle flesh-colored glow” in the middle of summer. Were he actually to visit Mexico, he would likely burst into flames the minute he walks outdoors. Since Em is in the midst of his “Elmo” deal and regularly demands Sesame Street be turned on after dinner (where they regularly cover much of Mexico) I’m pretty sure this is the origin of the confusion. None the less, geography is apparently an abstract concept to a 4 year old. Try as we may, the fact that none of us has ever actually been to Mexico appears to be beside the point.

Now, not trying to get too far into religious ideals, D and I are pretty open minded. As far as I’m concerned, if it works for you it works. I haven’t thought much about reincarnation prior to this phase…but now? This new info from At-man really makes me think about the whole “past lives” philosophy. Was he actually from Mexico? Who knows? Maybe he did live in Mexico one time when he was little…but not in this lifetime.

I must admit his conviction is pretty convincing. The only thing I worry about is misinterpretation from the occasional stranger. As luck would have it, we have some new neighbors. A nice seeming family, a mom, dad, and 2 young boys close in age to At-man and Em, and from what I understand, they actually are from Mexico! Imagine that introduction. “Hi, I’m Bobby from Mexico.” “Wow! I’m from Mexico too!” Please imagine me throwing my head into my hands, because that is what I am actually doing right now.

My parents are of Irish and Swiss origin and D, well, no one is 100% sure, but lets just say it’s somewhere pretty far from the equator. I am a red head, and D is one of the few adults I know who is actually blonde without help from a bottle. If my 4 year old continues to introduce himself as “At-man…from Mexico.” it’s bound to raise a few brows. All I can do is remind him of his actual origin, from the plain old “white bread, city of oaks”. I can’t help but wonder why he can’t think he’s from somewhere believable, like Sweden? Then again, maybe this will work to his advantage one day…you know women do really like a “Latin lover”. I just wonder if his blue eyes will give him away.