Them Thars Monsters Out There

My 8-year-old came in from playing the other day and said, "You want to know something wierd?"

"Sure."

"You know that big hole in the neighbor's fence?"

You bet I've noticed the big hole. It's about 4-feet wide and 4-feet high. Just about the size a 4-wheeler would cause if it happened to plow into it while removing snow or doing wheelies or whatever. I worried when I first saw it that maybe OUR 4-wheeler had been the guilty culprit, but if so no one has fessed up.

"Sure," I said.

"Well, have you noticed how the edges are really jagged?"

"Uh, sure." (I know, I'm very verbose when talking to my son.)

"Well..." he hesitated. Then took on a very serious composure. "First..." his voice deepened, filled with the gravity of the importance of his next statement: "Dresden and I believe in monsters."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah."

"So you think a monster made that hole?"

"Those jagged edges look just like teeth marks."

"Oh. So you think a monster bit a hole in the fence?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I hadn't thought of that. I thought it looked like maybe a 4-wheeler ran into it."

"No." He headed to the door. "That's not what it looks like."

"Oh. I see."

I wanted to grab him and squeeze him tight, just to keep him from doing any more growing up. If I could just keep him like this a little longer...