Learning from My Sons

I have one younger brother. Growing up, we played (and fought) alot together. We did have 'gender-specific' toys but we shared alot. I remember playing pretend with a combo of his train set, my dolls, various stuffed animals and an awesome set of Legos. I was by no means a girly girl - ruffles and bows were not really my thing. The lock on A's bedroom door in the house where we grew up still has scratch marks on it from the time he locked himself in his room and I tried to pick the lock so that I could get at him. :-)

Still, for all the things I learned from my brother about being a cool little boy, there are many things that I've learned from my little boys that are all new.

Insects

1. Earthworms are cool and they're not just for dissecting in biology lab to figure out the digestive system of invertebrates. The big fat juicy ones are the best and they feel kind of like live rubber bands in the palm of your hand.
2. Ants are fascinating creature and can be watched for hours at a time.
3. Spiders, while also cool, are still just this side of the scary/not scary line. Look but do not touch. Except when they are in the bathtub, in which case, you pick them up very carefully with a tissue paper and flush them down the toilet as fast as you can.

Construction and Tools

1. There are more construction vehicles and tools in this world that you can shake a stick at and P can name every one of them. I never knew what a scraper, grader, or grass cutter looked like before but I sure do now. I might even be able to tell you the difference between a sheet metal screw and a wood screw.
2. Little Boy + Hammer + Nail + Piece of Wood = Little Boy in Heaven. (Note: This also applies to big boys as M + Power Tool + Home Improvement Project = M in Heaven.)
3. Lincoln Logs rule.

Boys and Toilets

1. One must repeat the phrase "Lift the seat BEFORE you go." many, many times in training. This is not the default behavior and must be acquired.
2. Conversely, the phrase "Put the seat back down when you're done." must be repeated even more often because "Didn't you just tell me to put it up?"

Just when I think I've got them figured out, they surprise me with something new. But, that's ok, I can still learn new tricks. In fact, it's kind of fun.