Wednesday, January 17, 2007

So, Is It A BOY Thing,

Or just a Lazy Boy thing... or a Thoughtless Boy thing... or an  Impatient, Impetuous Boy thing... and, is it indeed just a Boy thing? Could it be a Male Gender thing? Is he growing into it, or will he grow out of it?


My son has eked out a dwelling space in the unfinished quarter of our basement.


He shares his allotment with the chest freezer, the washer and dryer and the workbench, besides a few canning shelves and the furnace and hot water heater.


He has creatively separated his chamber from the rest by using the freezer, a big old wooden cupboard that came with the house, and sundry sheets and pieces of fabric.


This morning, when I brought the laundry downstairs, I had to move bits of (obviously) drilled plastic, the plastic beverage bottle (that I assume the plastic bits, which were suspiciously "lid" colored, came from...) and the electric drill.


I had to unplug  the drill, and plug the washer back in- no mean feat as the washer is over 2 feet deep, and I have to reach across it to get to the outlet.


Don't get me wrong- I am thrilled that this boy has a creative streak a mile long.


I'm charmed by and admiring of his handiwork.


But, it never ceases to amaze me that he uses the washer and dryer to drill, hammer and glue on, when the workbench is immediately beside these appliances. And I mean immediately. He has but to turn on his heel to face the workbench. 


So what is it?


As soon as they can walk we begin the litany... "pick up your...(fill in the blank)... it doesn't go there!" ... "put it away"... "hang up your...."


When they begin school it grows. To dropped shoes and jackets we add backpacks, band instruments and full scale art projects.


Winter is the worst, as hats, gloves and scarves join the pile on the floor.


I don't know.


It does seem to be moving, as he gets older, though.


 His younger brother still drops things as soon as he enters the back door, while he, as the older, driving brother, tends to hold on to them until he reaches the basement... and the freezer... right outside his bedroom... separated from his desk by a thin strip of fabric...

3 comments:

  1. An Aunt of mine had a saying "It could be worse, he could pierce or tattoo something!

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  2. In defense of men... oh no wait, I do it too! But so does my wife so I guess it's fair. Ours is the couch though. Everything piles up on the couch until company is expected. My excuse is that our clothes rod in the front closet is too high for me to reach, however my wife walks past that closet on her way in and places her coat on the couch anyway.



    I was just informed that we will stop that once we have a house. Sounds good to me. :)

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  3. And- for the record- at our house it's just a boy thing... the husband never leaves things dropped where they shouldn't be... or boots/ shoes in the middle of the mudroom floor for me to trip over.... or coats and books on the couch (if they haven't made it to the top of the freezer, you'll find them parked there...) so, yeah, just boys.

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