Anatomy of a Mermaid

"The Little Mermaid" has become our new family favorite. 20 years ago Ruth viewed it in the theater and the magic has never left. For Kyle, however, this is a new favorite, and in reality, probably just the flavor-of-the-month.

I never thought a singing mermaid would lead to such interesting conversations in our house. For instance:

Kyle: "Mom, what's a human?"
Ruth: "We're humans. A human has legs and arms, and a mermaid has fins."
Kyle: "Yeah, we have arms and legs and toes...." (spastically waving all appendages around)
Ruth: "Yes, and mermaids have fins."
Kyle: "Yeah, a mermaid has fins. And these (pointing to his chest). What's these called, Mom?"
-PAUSE-
Ruth: "Those are seashells. Those are her clothes."
Kyle: "Hey, I have seashells! Grandma and Grandpa got me some seashells! And I can wear seashells, too?"
Ruth: "Umm, I guess. Do you want to play a game now?"

The change-of-conversation trick worked this time, but it's not going to work forever. I hear that today's children require "the birds and the bees conversation" at a much earlier age, but I'm definitely not ready for that. Besides, that's Kevin's job, right?