Well, it’s now happened to me.

The setting: McDonald’s for a ‘special breakfast’.  I know, I know, but we don’t go to McDonald’s a lot.

The situation:

My son says to me, while eating pancakes,

“Mom, Albatrogen can fly and sleep at the same time; can any other animals do that?”

To which I reply,

“I’ve never heard of an Albatrogen, and I don’t think any animals can sleep and fly at the same time.”

When an elderly man sitting at the booth next to us cleared his throat and offered, “Umm.  He’s right.  I think he was trying to say, ‘albatross’, and they CAN fly while they are sleeping.”

“Yeah, Mom- albatrosses!”

And then my son informed me that they learned the other day in KINDERGARTEN that albatrosses can fly and sleep at the same time…

and I did not know this animal fact.

I now have learned, upon further research regarding albatrosses, that a more accurate term might be ‘soaring’ rather than flying.  They can sleep while they soar, locking their wings and relying on the wind to soar or glide.

But I didn’t know that before; I think I was learning that I shouldn’t pick my nose in Kindergarten, and that sharing is a good thing.  Ah, how times change.

The elderly gentleman was nice about correcting me.  And I’m glad he did.  I’ve learned something and my son has too.  And he didn’t have a tone like, ‘You idiot, your 6-year-old knows more than you do,’ which is always nice  

I don’t know if I would have done the same thing, however.  I’m on the fence about it.  I think I’m  leaning toward the whole, ‘Mommies go through a lot and are learning as they go every day, and I’m sure she’ll eventually figure out what he meant and then they’ll go look it up and figure out that albatrosses DO fly, or rather, soar, while sleeping…’

Would You?

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