It’s like a kind of an insane infatuation. They become obsessed, our kids—with dinosaurs and trash trucks and tractors. With Disney characters and soundtracks. With bunnies and sharks and mermaids.

And for a period, our lives revolve around these obsessions. We take them to an airshow because we know that seeing that many planes will blow their mind. We take them to a train museum and of course, that trip to Disneyland. We point out every cow or construction site or fire engine. We put the song on on repeat. We sing it to them on command. Because it makes them happy, because it keeps their interest, because, even though it sometimes drives us crazy, we get into it, too.

But we can forget that this is a temporary madness, that the obsession does not last. Its power is waning, imperceptibly, each day. They will soon get over it. One day they will not even look up when we tell them we hear an ambulance or a helicopter. They will not respond to the song. They will shrug their shoulders when you tell them Mickey is on TV.

None of it lasts, and soon enough you will miss it. So embrace the insanity, enjoy the madness while it’s here.