Don't Lay That Trash on Oklahoma

I may have inadvertently started my son on a life of crime.

On the way home from school, Zaya found an old, half-full bottle of water in the backseat and he asked me to roll down the window so he could dump it out. I looked back to make sure he was holding on to it, and as he started to bring it back into the car I closed the window. Apparently he decided there were still a few drops that could be cast to the wind, because as I rolled it up, his hand was back out the window holding the bottle. When the window started to come up he let go of the bottle and brought his hand back inside.

He had littered.

He gave me a look that said, "What have I done?" His eyes were big and he looked worried and thrilled at the same time. "Oh no, Mommy! Oh, no!"

"Uh-oh, we accidentally littered, didn't we." I tried to keep a straight face, but I'm not sure if I succeeded. "Well, don't worry. I think it will be OK because it was just an accident, and just one water bottle."

He was quiet for about 3 more miles, then piped up from the back seat. "Well, I guess the police probably can't find us now."

"Um, probably not."

He murmured for a while about the law, and then said, "We live in a small town. Policemen are only in big cities, right?"

I tried to explain that we were really alright, and not in danger of being dragged off to Sing Sing or anything, but I'm not sure if he ever believed me.

It's not really a surprise that two legalists are raising two legalist children, but it does make for some great conversations. I just hope Zaya doesn't succumb to his first exhilarating taste for walking on the dark side of the law.