Differences Between Moms and Dads

My fellow Southwest Floridians can attest to the fact that there's been a lot of thunderstorms here as of late.

This has resulted in the revelation that Mason is very afraid of thunder. He's four now, and naturally more aware of things. Every afternoon during what has become the daily thunderstorm, he comes running and tells me he's scared. I secretly kind of like it because he actually wants me to hold him, a rare occurrence anymore.

But as his mother, it's my duty to make him un-scared of the storms. So as he sits in my lap shaking like a leaf, I tell him not to be scared of thunder. It's just the angels up in heaven bowling, I tell him. Don't they make a lot of noise? They sound like they are having a ton of fun!

Today, Rey attempted to take the boys on his dad's boat to the beach on Keewaydin Island, but when they all got to the dock and checked the radar, the weather wasn't going to be good. The boys were really wanting to go to the beach, and couldn't understand why they were turning around and going home. Telling them "there will be thunder and lightening" wasn't sufficient. They demanded an explanation.

Here's Cole, recounting what he was told:

In case you can't understand Mr. Pizza Face... Translation: You'll get killed.

I am told Cole and Mason informed everyone on the dock that they better go inside so the thunder doesn't kill them. Cole even told a boater and his dog that, "You better go inside or the thunder will kill you. And it will kill your dog too."

Something tells me my angels bowling story isn't going to do much good anymore...