Anyone who has raised a boy can relate to the Dirt on My Shirt poem that I stumbled across recently. When I saw it memories of my son and my grandsons came to mind. It is like they are immune to the idea of cleanliness. If it looks like fun, dig right in.
I have very rarely seen my grandson, Corbin, with a clean face. I think it is magnetic and attracts dirt, all he has to do is walk across a room and it zeros in on him. Thinking back to when my son was growing up, there were all kinds of messes and things going on that bring to life the saying “boys will be boys.”
Here are some of my “boys will be boys” memories….
- Walking into my backyard and Patrick and his friend had dug a huge hole in the ground. Why? Just for fun!
- Patrick telling me about taking a boat down the canal using a battery-operated fan for a motor. I thought he was kidding until I was at a meeting and a mother who lived on the canal commented on these boys running a boat down the canal using a fan for a motor…she thought it was pretty ingenious!
- My grandson, Corbin, telling me he didn’t have to wash his hands as he flipped them back and forth saying “see they are clean” and “I’ll wash them on Thursday.”
- Socks that are filthy because why bother putting on shoes, you’re only going into the yard.
- Cleaning out pockets filled with stones, grass, dirt, and miscellaneous other items.
- At 2-1/2 to 3 years Patrick had a 2-foot ramp he would use to jump his 2-wheeler. My mother-in-law, who had raised three boys, didn’t give it a thought. My parents, who had raised two girls almost had heart failure when they saw him do the jump at 2-1/2 years.
- My grandson, Austin at 2-3 years old running onto a water park and standing in the running sprinklers fully clothed in shoes, turtle neck top and overalls.
- Creek findings in my garage: craw-fish, baby muskrat, fish, snails, snakes, turtles (Patrick, now 30-years old, has a large turtle in a tank in my garage right now) all brought home and kept in fish tanks in my garage.
- Having all the screws in my dining room chairs removed by Patrick’s bare hands.
- My grandson, Austin sliding ice cubes from his Koolaid around on the table; when asked what he was doing he said “washing the table.”
- Hearing a crash and discovering my 2 year old son on top of my refrigerator.
- Greasy/dirty clothes from fixing things…snow blowers, lawn mowers, anything that doesn’t work.
The list could go on forever, and thinking back on those memories makes me smile. After all, I can still look at Patrick, now 30 years old, and he will have dirt on his shirt, dirt on his hands, and dirt on his face due to something he has been working on. Oh, and he still leaves dirt on the refrigerator handle when grabbing something to drink.
Share with me your
“Boys Will Be Boys” memories
--- LIFE IS A MELTING POT --- Grace Grogan...Writer, Photographer 