Boys and Tape
You know how before you have any kids at all, you know everything there is to know about how other people should parent? I promise I never was obnoxious enough to say anything about it out loud. Still, I definitely had some ideas about things that, looking back, make me laugh so hard I could cry.
Once when I was young and foolish and childless I was at a friend's home. Her six year old son was asking for tape and she said, "You can have one piece, and then don't ask for anymore. Just.one.piece." It gave me pause because, I thought, "Wow, it's just tape." Fortunately, I kept my mouth shut, because I would certainly be eating those words now.
You see, now that I have a houseful of my own boys I completely understand what the big deal is. No matter how much tape I buy, I can't seem to find it. It's never where I last put it. I find it in their rooms. If they don't abscond with an entire roll, I'll find balled up strips of it laying in the floor. Then there's the ever present question. "Mommy, can I have a piece of tape?"
What do they need all the tape for? To create, to put together little pieces of things to make something else. To hang their artwork, repair broken objects, and sometimes, to tape each other together, mouths closed. Occasionally, I'm not even sure if they know why they want it. They just need tape.
On the rare occasion when I actually know where the heck it even is, I answer "You can have ONE piece, and then don't ask for anymore. Just.One.Piece." I get it now.
An Original Deep South Moms post. Rebecca blogs at Life With Boys where she recounts the antics of her 4 small tape loving fellas.
Follow Technorati