Boy Quotes

In early fall, I’d been hearing dire predictions that 2014-15 will be one of the most harsh winters yet.  So I know it’s often a lot of hype, but everyone seemed to be saying it this year.  According to one article, we could see snowfall as early as the end of September and winter may well last until June of next year.  “Most kids haven’t seen blizzards but by the end of this winter they’ll be very knowledgeable about them.  People shouldn’t wait until the snow starts to buy bread. They should stock up and put it in their freezers.”  Wow. Just wow.  I was telling our winter-loving boys and they were all excited.  I ended with, “In which case, Daddy will probably need to buy me a ticket to Florida at some point.”  Adam promptly said, “Oh, then you’d just be like the prodigal son. You’d get to Florida and the money would just go tick, tick, tick.”

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Liam: A bunch of tomorrows have passed and a bunch of Fridays have passed but not tomorrow and not a week from tomorrow. I think I won’t be dead yet a week from tomorrow.

Me: I hope not!

Liam: I think I’ll be alive to become a grown up …. and then I’ll put away these childish things.

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While working on first grade Math, Liam struggled a little with 5-3=2 and 5-2=3.  I used manipulatives and also explained that this is just like our family.  We have five in our family, so if the parents go away (2) there are three kids still at home.  Or if they would go away, there would just be two (the parents) left at home.  The next day while doing flashcards we got to 5-2.  He squinted a little then said quietly to himself, “Ok, 5 take away the parents…..”

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When the hand soap ran low in the hallway bathroom Liam marched through our bedroom on his way to our bathroom to wash his hands.  “The soap in Zara’s bathroom quit giving birth,” he announced.

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Liam and Adam spent two days with our friends, Keith and Jeanne, while Zara was at Johns Hopkins.  On Sunday, my parents picked them up, brought them to the hospital to see us, and then took them along home to Virginia.  The boys attended their local church school. Fortunately, Liam is doing the same curriculum they are and even though he is ahead of where they are, he was able to do some of his work.  Liam LOVED school so very much.  When he got home he was telling me about it.  Then he got a funny little grin as he talked about his teacher.  “She had a certain voice (he meant accent).”  He stopped to giggle again.  “I can’t get it right.  Taaaaaaast,” (test) he said, in a southern Virginia drawl.

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Whenever we get to a bigger town it is immediately obvious that the boys have forgotten how to act outside of backwoods USA. We were in Winchester and I was constantly worrying they’d get hit because they just bounced out of the vehicle, dragged along behind or ran precariously in front of us.  They’re old enough not to have to stick close as a burr, but goodness, they’ve all but forgotten how to be aware of traffic.  At the next stop when Liam just disappeared behind the van before I was even out of it, I started the normal, “wait, where’s Liam? Tell him to come back here,” frantic kind of mumble jumble.

Adam: “Oh, just stop worrying.”

Me: “This is serious. Do you realize kids have been killed in parking lots?”

Adam quite nonchalantly: “Oh, don’t you hear his jolly voice?”

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The boys have switched career dreams at least once a year during their short lifetime.  Currently, they’re both set on the wild outdoors.  Adam is planning to be a professional fisherman, preferably somewhere way far North.

Liam is having a hard time deciding.  One day he’s going to be a jockey.  The next he’s planning to be a chef and open his own restaurant.  Recently when we had guests he proudly announced, “As soon as I’m thirteen or fourteen I’m going off to college to become a cowboy!

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We were in the card aisle looking for a birthday card for Grandpa. “How old is he?” asked Liam.

“Sixty-eight.”

Liam: “Oh, so you’re older than he is?”

“Um, no.”

Liam: “oh, so you’re not in your seventies?”

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Liam loooooves to read.  He’s delving into chapter books and his lips move as he sounds out the words. I love seeing him so intent on reading that he is willing to work hard to read an interesting story.  I didn’t realize how much effort it takes though until I would ask him to do something.  He’d put his finger on his book to keep his place and ask hopefully, “Can I wait for a period?”

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Another day when I was grading a section of his book that required yes and no answers I mentioned that he had gotten one wrong. A yes that should have been a no.  “YES!” he said excitedly. “I always cheer for the no’s and now there are more of them.”

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The highlight of the session at camp is a craft auction where boys and staff alike are making hand-crafted items to be sold.  Adam and Liam got in on the fun.  Liam sewed a pillow with some help from me and David helped Adam make a rather complicated wren house.  I got wind that kids might be introducing their crafts so I started coaching Adam since there will probably be well over a hundred attendees and I hoped to eliminate some stage fright in the event he did get a chance to talk.  You could say, “My dad helped me make this cool bird house …”

Adam interrupting: “Um, cool? That’s propaganda.  I’m not sure I want to use testimonial propaganda about my craft.”

Whatever.  I think he can probably come up with his own speech.

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