Mom, why do...?

Today, Jaden asked me some pretty amazing questions. She was walking by me and suddenly stopped. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She said, "Mama? why do mermaids have tails?"
My heart stopped. I was amazed that her thought processes are that advanced. I loved chatting with her about mermaids and how they are make-believe. I tried to get a good understanding of what she knows about real and make-believe, and she didn't disappoint me! That girl KNOWS there are not really mermaids!
Now, I have a terrible memory and if I don't jot down an incident as they occur, I really forget the details easily. So I don't remember the other amazing things she asked about today. However, a really cool thing: when I was wracking my brain trying to remember the mermaid question, I asked her about it, not fully believing that she would know what I was talking about.
"JadenGrace, do you remember what you wanted to know about mermaids before? When you were asking about mermaids? Do you remember that? What did you want to know? About mermaids?" (yes, talking to autistic people can be exhausting)
She said, "Why they have tails"
\o/
Oh, I remember one other thing she said--she came to me and said, "Mama, we don't kick people's butts!"
SHOCK. "What?"
"We are not allowed to kick people's butts, are we, Mama?" Then she lifted her foot and tried to kick my butt! She had been watching Spongebob and learned that lovely tidbit of information. Sigh. Leave it to Spongebob!
Can I take a minute to encourage those of you who have autistic children? They CAN be taught well. They CAN be trained to listen and obey Mama and Daddy. They CAN be taught right from wrong. They CAN be taught that 'no, honey, we do not kick people's butts', and understand it. My girl is nearly 6 and so she is learning these things later than she would if she didn't have autism. But she IS learning. She is well-behaved and as easy as any other strong-willed typical child. Yes, a lot of work! But not hopeless!