Conversations From Back There

Like a lot of parents, I spend a good deal of time between here and there with my kids "back there". That no-mans-land in the car that is both with you, and completely separate. That place where they can be dreamy little movie watching zombies or screeching, seat kicking, fighting, monsters. It can be a  place of constant kid chatter too, depending on how much you want to hear and how much they think you are listening. Mine assume I am listening almost all of the time (which I am not) so they chatter in my general direction at a pace that you would think defies breathing. Now, I my not be listening in the best sense of the word (because frankly my ears hit an overload limit), but I am in fact listening. I have a very keen sense of when to reactivate the more active part of my listening, that is revert from filter mode to mom mode and really pay attention, and its a damn good thing. If I didn't, how else would I know when to say "dahhhhhh.....???"
Like when Kiera reports that a boy in her room told a little girl that he was going to marry her and Kiera objected that no, he couldn't because she was going to marry! My ears caught that one because I was very interesting in who of the two she was saying she was going to marry! For cripes sake that boy is a beast! So she clarified that she was defending that she had dibs on her little girl friend (what a relief, really that boy is a nut!).
Ben tells Kiera, "girls can't marry girls."
To which Kiera replies, "well of course they can Ben," with a shake of her head.
Ben tells Kiera, "no, girls marry boys and boys marry girls. Girls marring girls isn't allowed."
Kiera tells Ben, "Ben, that just doesn't make any sense at all. When people grow up and they are in love they marry."
To which Ben replies, "I don't think that's legal Kiera."
Kiera asks, "Mom, is Ben right? Girls can marry right?"
At which point I notice that our favorite Christmas song is on and thank everything shiny that my kids are still young enough that they can be easily guided into loud car singing rather than continuing this conversation with a big fat dahhhhhhh????? from mom. It's not that I don't have an answer, oh I have so many answers for this one, it's just that I don't want to give you one just yet. You don't think there is anything wrong with two boys or two girls holding hands right now and I don't need to give you the burden of anyones bullshit that might be tied inadvertently to any bit of my answer. Be a child for just a minute longer OK?
Songs over, wait what? Did you just say lets play the pretend we're smoking game? Dahhhhhh?????