The Theory of Relativity

I can't remember exactly what the actual, scientific theory of relativity means, but here is what that term means to me today...

Kids and Time - there is a relativity that is not understood by kids. For example, a friend of mine's delightful 5 year old heard someone say "Jesus is coming soon" so she asked her mom how it would be when Jesus came. Her mom explained the trumpets and the thunder and all that. Like 5 minutes later, a truck rumbled by and the child hollers "It's Jesus - I hear him!" There is just no concept of the relativity of time. You can't blame them - we say, "It will be bedtime soon." and "Soon it will be fall and you can wear blue jeans again. " and "Jesus is coming soon." There should be more specific terms.

6 Inches - When you are talking about the distance between earth and the sun, 6 inches is relatively insignificant. When you are trying to see how far it is from here to there on a map, again, relatively insignificant. When you are moving a piano, still not that big of a deal. When you are discussing the difference between a full-size bed and a queen-size bed, it doesn't sound very significant. YET, when 2 of you are trying to sleep in a full-size bed, instead of a queen-size bed, those missing 6 inches will kill ya! So if we seem a little grumpy over the next few weeks, just know that it is all relative to those 6 inches of missing bed (all 6 of which I think were taken off of my side since Rick seems to not be noticing the difference.)

Teeth - since you have 16 or 20 of them in your mouth, you would think that missing one is relatively minor. Yet, Katie can't seem to talk without spitting these days. I guess that having a 3 mm gap in the front is making all the difference in her ability to keep her slobber in while she talks! Here's hoping they don't all fall out at once. We'll have to wear rain slickers just to chat with her!

So those are the theories of relativity in this house!