A Case of Mistaken Identities

Ella is obsessed with Francis Scott Key--yes, the one who wrote the Star Spangled Banner.  Several times over the last few months she's asked me to tell her what the song means, and at some point I mentioned the story of how Mr. Key came to write it.  And what I means by that is that I told her whatever vague recollection I have from Mr. Conrad's 11th grade AP U.S. History class.  It turns out that I actually remembered that story accurately (and I only scored a 3 on that AP test...obviously, I did not reach my full potential on that day). 

So, what I told my 3-year-old, which at the time I was sure was completely historically inaccurate, has led to her obsession with the man who wrote our National Anthem. We role play Francis Scott Key with My Little Ponies.  I'm Francis Scott Key making cheese quesadillas for lunch.  We acknowledge British accents on TV, and how the Brits took Mr. Key prisoner on a ship. Ridiculous.

This was all well and good.  Until the day when I realized that she had somehow mixed up two stories.  One was the story of how the National Anthem was written.  The other was how her 9th great-grandfather, William Brewster, was the elder on the Mayflower.  Both true stories.  But Ella now believes Francis Scott Key was her 9th great-grandfather. And from this mistake in historical accuracy, an obsession has grown.

I have a really hard time correcting her though, because she sings that song with such pride.

Total sidenote: 35 weeks tomorrow. Wow. Still waiting on the nursery bedding to ship.  Feeling big, but much less swollen than last time around--which is a huge plus.  She's almost here!