Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Male Box


This makes me smile. It makes me grin. I like this so much I tried to peel it from the back of the mailbox, violating several federal laws, but it wouldn't cooperate. Something about two boys in baseball caps that gets me.

Can't you just hear these two?
"Let's go to your house and play Wii."

"Can't. My dad's watching the game. What about your house?"

"Uh no, my mom said she's tired of looking at me."

"Hey let's climb the mailbox," Leader suggests.

"Better not, might get hurt," warns Follower.

"You're chicken."

"Am not."

"Are too."

And in a suburban Lord of the Flies moment, Leader turns his baseball cap around, the one with his name monogrammed on it, and scales the side of government property. "Hey, you gotta get up here. This is awesome!"

"OK, I'm coming up." Follower struggles with the climb, watching as Leader inches toward the edge.

"Geronimoooooooo!"


Maybe it's just me but I find boys fascinating. That fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants mentality, that renegade spirit, that act-now-think-later philosophy. So different from my planned, programmed, sensible existence as a mother. I marvel at the opposite of me.

But if I find my two hoodlums on top of the mailbox in our neighborhood, you can bet I'll march right over there and ruin their fun. "You two get down right now. Have some respect for property. This is unacceptable. You know better than this," and then I'll take their picture. But then I'll shoo them into the house and put the Nintendo DS in time out. Because boys need limits like rivers need banks. The picture, though, would make me grin. Because mothers need sons like oceans need waves.

7 comments:

  1. This cracks me up! I always thought I'd be a good mom of boys. God must have thought otherwise. I'd probably be the mom encouraging my boys to Geronimoooooo off things. So funny, this post.
    ~ Wendy

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  3. Sorry...found a typo in the comment I left earlier. Let's try again...

    Christina, I love, love, love this post. My two boys are still too young to attempt a stunt like the one in the picture, but I smile as I imagine days ahead refereeing their antics.

    Your closing lines are perfection: "...boys need limits like rivers need banks. The picture, though, would make me grin. Because mothers need sons like oceans need waves." It so beautifully captures your idea of finding the balance between our kids' spontaneity and our own planning.

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  4. Wendy- God always knows what or who we need, right? You must have some tomboy inside:)

    Kristen- You make me laugh because of the typo that you found which caused you to re-post. This is so me! Drove me crazy to see a typo in a comment I left recently on another blog site but I couldn't get back it to fix it. Took a couple of days but I finally let it go.

    Your active days are coming with two boys! Their creativity and energy is astonishing. I like how you said "finding the balance". Balance is KEY.

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  5. Love this picture too! and I love my boys! love your writing!

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  6. Can I have your autograph? I am such a fan of your writing!

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