Somewhere along the way, Ava’s become concerned with people on motorcycles and bikes who don’t wear helmets. She absolutely delights in pointing out every time someone goes by with no headgear on.
She and I were standing in the front yard during the move two weekends ago, and a woman rode past us without a helmet. She was maybe 12 feet from us. Ava pointed at her and, in a disapproving tone I think she picked up from her mother, said, “No HELmet!” The woman looked over at Ava in mock embarrassment and covered her mouth with her hand; Ava appeared satisfied with the response.
Then, last night, as I sat next to Ava while she ate her pre-bedtime snack, she regaled (and people, I mean regaled) me with a long, detailed story about two groups of motorcyclists she said she’d seen yesterday. There were “good” motorcyclists and “bad” motorcyclists. Can you guess which group didn’t wear helmets? She was intent on making it clear, also, that some of the bad motorcyclists were wearing helmets, and that they also went over the speed limit (Ava’s also keen on knowing whether we’re going the speed limit when we’re in the car, a concern ever since her Uncle Kevin got a speeding ticket).
It’s amazing to watch her get involved in telling these stories. She waves her hands around and gets so excited that, sometimes, she actually stammers as she tries to get the words to come out. Also cool is when I react with approval or displeasure at whether the people in her stories are wearing helmets, Ava gets a big smile on her face. She must be learning something here, but any educational or developmental process that’s going on is lost amidst the sheer cuteness of her exuberance.