Human Nature

The other night when I was tucking Sullivan into bed, he stood up suddenly, on top of his covers and said, "Mom, there are two Sullys."

And I said, "Huh?" The doctor had thought he was twins at first because he was growing so quickly in utero, but there is only one of him. I would know. I'm the mom.

And he said, "There are two Sullys. A dark Sully and a light Sully."

I was not prepared for this discussion. I said, "Huh?"

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Which one is the real Sully? The dark Sully or the light Sully?"

I shook my head. "I uh...huh?" Was this a developmental milestone of some kind? I hadn't been keeping up with those milestone websites, so maybe. Age 2.5: develops philosophical streak, begins to ask questions about whether, fundamentally speaking, humans are inherently good or evil.

And then he pointed at the wall behind him, where his shadow stood. "Is that the real Sully, or is this the real Sully?" He pointed at his head.

"Good grief," I said.

"Charlie Brown says that," he said.

"That's true."