Tuesday, April 12, 2005
The Darndest Things
Last year, Max was particularly fond of his classmate, Raegan. By the age of 2, Raegan had charisma, and boys and girls alike were drawn to her magnetism. At one of the kids' birthday parties, I mentioned to Raegan's mother my prediction that in 20-something years, our eldest children would marry. Imagine my surprise when Liam's mother announced that her son, too, had his sights on the enchanting Miss Raegan. You see, Liam was Max's best buddy at school. Little did I know that Liam, Max and Rae, best of friends in the classroom and on the playground, were secretly embroiled in a pre-school love triangle.
This morning I announced to Max that after his gymnastics class, we were going to meet Raegan at the zoo. Max was thrilled at the news and disappeared into the backyard. A minute later he returned, holding two white flowers. Extending one to me, Max said, "I picked this flower for you, mommy, but not this one. I'm going to take this flower to Rae Rae."
(Let's dispense for the moment with the obvious juxtaposition of the two females on Max's emotional radar screen. Given that I'm still changing his diapers, I'm not prepared to wander too far into the psychologically complicated triad between Max, his mother, and his future girlfriends/wife. I will say in passing, though, that I have an admirable role model in the person of Lee's mother, Nancy. In the great mother-in-law lottery, I definitely won the jackpot.)
Two hours later, after Max and I had enjoyed our picnic by the duckpond, we met up with Raegan and her mother near the sea lions. That's when it dawned on Max that he'd left Raegan's flower in the car. But to Max, every dilemma is an opportunity for problem-solving, and he was determined to bestow Raegan with his hand-picked treasure. He thought for a moment and then pointed a finger at me: "Rae Rae's mommy can watch me, and you can go get the flower out of the car!"
*****
"Mommy, Babee, I want to show you something!"
I had been telling mom about Lee's visit to the acupuncturist when Max strode into the kitchen wearing nothing but his T-shirt. This is the fashion statement that I've mentioned earlier, the one that signals another successful foray to the bathroom.
"Max, what did you do? Did you use the potty?"
"Quick! Come see!"
Max led us into his bedroom and proudly displayed the contents of his potty to his grandmother and me.
"I'm so proud of you, Max!"
"I'm proud, too, Babee."
"Let's put the poo poo in the toilet!"
"I want to flush it!"
"You do?"
"Yes, because I made it all by myself!"
"You certainly did, Max."
"Bye-bye, poo. See you tomorrow!"
*****
Lee was watching a tennis match between Roger Federer and Greg Rusedski this evening when Max wandered into the den.
"Max, take a look at this. That man right there is the greatest tennis player in the world right now. He's the very best there is."
"No, daddy. You're the best."
This morning I announced to Max that after his gymnastics class, we were going to meet Raegan at the zoo. Max was thrilled at the news and disappeared into the backyard. A minute later he returned, holding two white flowers. Extending one to me, Max said, "I picked this flower for you, mommy, but not this one. I'm going to take this flower to Rae Rae."
(Let's dispense for the moment with the obvious juxtaposition of the two females on Max's emotional radar screen. Given that I'm still changing his diapers, I'm not prepared to wander too far into the psychologically complicated triad between Max, his mother, and his future girlfriends/wife. I will say in passing, though, that I have an admirable role model in the person of Lee's mother, Nancy. In the great mother-in-law lottery, I definitely won the jackpot.)
Two hours later, after Max and I had enjoyed our picnic by the duckpond, we met up with Raegan and her mother near the sea lions. That's when it dawned on Max that he'd left Raegan's flower in the car. But to Max, every dilemma is an opportunity for problem-solving, and he was determined to bestow Raegan with his hand-picked treasure. He thought for a moment and then pointed a finger at me: "Rae Rae's mommy can watch me, and you can go get the flower out of the car!"
*****
"Mommy, Babee, I want to show you something!"
I had been telling mom about Lee's visit to the acupuncturist when Max strode into the kitchen wearing nothing but his T-shirt. This is the fashion statement that I've mentioned earlier, the one that signals another successful foray to the bathroom.
"Max, what did you do? Did you use the potty?"
"Quick! Come see!"
Max led us into his bedroom and proudly displayed the contents of his potty to his grandmother and me.
"I'm so proud of you, Max!"
"I'm proud, too, Babee."
"Let's put the poo poo in the toilet!"
"I want to flush it!"
"You do?"
"Yes, because I made it all by myself!"
"You certainly did, Max."
"Bye-bye, poo. See you tomorrow!"
*****
Lee was watching a tennis match between Roger Federer and Greg Rusedski this evening when Max wandered into the den.
"Max, take a look at this. That man right there is the greatest tennis player in the world right now. He's the very best there is."
"No, daddy. You're the best."
1 Comments:
What a wonderful post, Melanie. Each one of these three vignettes made me laugh out loud. I was particularly amused by Max's I made it all by myself, as that's a straightforward expression of a recognized developmental stage.
Post a Comment
<< Home