I can�t even tell you how many e-mails, comments and notes I received today from people concerned about AJ�s reaction to the demotion of Pluto. I am overwhelmed � thanks for all your comments, concerns and links to news stories. As usual, AJ had a very practical view of the whole thing.

�Is Pluto still there?� he asked.
�Yes, it�s still there. Astronomers just don�t think it�s a planet anymore.�
�What is it then?�
�They�re calling it a dwarf planet, along with Xena and a couple of other things.�
�What�s a dwarf planet?�
�It means a small planet.�
�Okay.�
�Do you think we need to take Pluto off your solar system models?�
�Hmm. No. It�s okay. I know Pluto�s a dwarf planet.�

So there you have it. 8 planets it is, although we�re keeping our miniature Plutos around for old time�s sake. AJ will probably be rewriting the ends of an entire shelf of his books as a result of all this, but he feels like the situation�s under control.

I, however, am feeling a little unmoored. In a single morning I have lost a planet and a caterpillar. Both are still there, but both have become something conceptually different.

Our caterpillar, Glow Worm, transformed himself overnight. When we went out to the porch in our pajamas to check on him this morning, we discovered that he had wrapped himself in a leaf and coated it with silk. He�s now adhered to the top of his box, which won�t be big enough for a polyphemus moth. I think we�re going to wait until his cocoon is fully finished and hardened and then we�ll try to move him into something larger. We may take it to a nearby nature center that we like to visit. They have a butterfly room there and we�re hoping they can tell us what to do to keep our moth pupa happy and healthy.

Meanwhile, I�m trying to think about him too much, for Glow Worm is starting to feel like a metaphor for something and I�m afraid to find out what. My husband accuses me of being overly concerned about small creatures. He got tired of hearing me worry about AJ�s fish in his last days. He is amused by my teaching AJ how to escort wayward spiders outside instead of squashing them with his shoe. He can�t fool me, though. I saw the look on his face when he accidentally crushed the world�s smallest frog last week.

But today has not been all about things scientific. We also stumbled into a storytime at our public library today where AJ won a door prize, a family pass to a museum of trains that he�s been angling to visit. He�s very excited about having won something tangible.

He�s also been angling for other tangible rewards:

Scene: Playroom at the yoga studio after class last night.

Harriet: Hi, AJ, how was playtime?

AJ: Okay. Mommy, can I have two fifty dollar bills?

Harriet: No. I don�t have that much money. Why do you need two fifty dollar bills?

AJ: Because I want to buy a video game like TGND�s brother has and he says it costs $100.

Harriet: That�s a lot of money. It�s almost two years worth of your allowance. Maybe you should put it on your Christmas list.

AJ: But I can�t wait that long. Do you think I could do some chores to earn some money?

When AJ turned 5, he started getting a dollar a week in allowance, in part so he�ll learn the value of money and in part because I get tired of him asking me to buy him stuff every single time we�re in a store. This is the first time I�ve heard of him actually wanting to save up for something and I�m pleased that he�s interested in earning money. However, our policy has always been that people do chores because they�re part of the family. It�s not a financial transaction. I am, however, trying to find some special projects he can help me with to earn a little extra cash. We�ll see if his interest holds.

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