I was taking pictures of the wildlife at a pond not too far from my house the other day when a young boy approached me on his bike.  He looked about five years old – give or take a year.  When he started talking, I thought he was talking to himself, but soon realized he was talking to me.  I know kids can sometimes say some pretty crazy and funny things, but I was totally not expecting what came out of this kid’s mouth.

As he rolled toward me on his training wheels, the kid looks at me and says, “I just got this bike on Sunday, and I’m already a professional.”

I looked at him for a second with a blank expression.  I had to repeat what he said to me a few times.  And then I laughed.

Where does a kid get that sort of language?  Did I say funny things like that when I was five?

Shopping for my brother’s birthday gifts, I over heard a conversation between a little boy and his father.

The Little Boy:  “Germs are fluffy.”

Father: “No they aren’t.”

The Little Boy:  “Oh, yeah, that’s right.  They are little black bugs that live in your body.”

It made me smile.

On Sunday, Phil and I went to the mall and picked four cards off of a Christmas tree that represented four different kids in need.  We picked two boys and two girls.  Phil and I had decided several months ago that we were going to buy presents for kids who otherwise might not get any instead of buying for each other or our families.

The one thing that surprised me is that a large percentage of kids were asking for big ticket items like PS3’s and Wii’s.  Almost every kid wanted a bike.  It was hard to find kids who were asking for something that they actually needed or something that was reasonable for me to buy them on my budget.  I wondered if some of the parents had used their kids to get things that they wanted.

This is the first time I have ever done something like this.  For me, it was a good experience.  I hope the kids are happy come Christmas morning.  I’d love to see their faces.

Here are the gifts we bought the kids.