Boys

I know girls. I raised three of them into strong independent women. As they grew up I was involved with their friends, through school, birthday parties, dance, drama, basketball, soccer, hockey. You name it, I was there. Watching girls be girls.

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I am pleasantly baffled by boys. Perhaps I shouldn’t be, having grown up with three brothers. But when you’re a child you take everything in stride. It’s not the same as being an adult, observing and caring for them.

The Cowboy and I just spent 10 days looking after Little Man, Bright, and Sunny. Three very busy little boys. Every day spent with them was a new wonder. Intriguing. Bewildering. Enchanting. Exhausting.

I don’t know, are all boys enthralled with potty humour? Even the two-year-olds erupt in laughter as their five-year-old brother shifts his hips to the left and lets out a howling “toot”.

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Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.
Plato

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The novel I am writing is told from the perspective of a five-year-old girl. As I write from her viewpoint I need to be aware of how much language she carries. So, one of my goals this visit was to closely observe Little Man’s language and the way he processes life.

Surprise, surprise! What I discovered was that Little Man speaks like a five-year-old boy. His language includes a lot of grunts and sound effects and other noises that make him giggle with glee.

I don’t remember this being true of little girls. They giggle about other things.

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A boy is a magical creature. You can lock him out of your workshop, but you can’t lock him out of your heart.
Allan Beck

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So this new phenomenon is an education, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

Grandparenting little boys is like experiencing the sun and the wind, the rain and the sasquatch all coming out on the same day. It is a dazzling torrential delight.

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The best thing I saw all week (besides the faces of my grandchildren) was … These Canada Geese walking across an almost thawed ditch. The ice creaked and squelched and squerumped beneath them as they gingerly took step after cautious step.