Braving Boys

Photo: Kristi Anastasi Collins

Six and nine. Must be just the right ages for assigning blame — at least in our house. And while the 6-year-old guy does his fair share of shifting fault, I must say that the 9-year-old has the skill down pat. He should, he’s been practicing it for years. It goes something like this:

Parents: “Joey, why did you trip your brother?”

Joey: “I didn’t.”

Parents: “Yes, you did.”

Joey: “No, I didn’t.”

Parents: “We saw you do it!”

Joey: “I. did. not. trip. him.”

And he’ll stand his ground until the bitter end (even though we saw it!), which often leaves us dumbfounded and praying this trait is soon extinguished and replaced with the honestly we preach every chance we get.

We tell our boys they’ll always be in less trouble for being honest (even if it reveals poor choices) than if we learn they are lying. Will they catch on, jump on board and evolve into the truth-telling boys we know they can be?

Probably.

It’s perfectly normal for school-age kids to cover up and duck out of taking responsibility, say some exerts for Parents.com. It usually happens when they know Mom and Dad would disapprove of something they did, and since they are not great at anticipating consequences, admitting wrong-doing can be overwhelming. The bottom line: for our kiddos, understanding rules and consequences is still a developmental work in progress.

Gosh, this makes me feel so much better. I was starting to wonder where this tendency was coming from.

Because.

Well.

I knew it couldn’t be my fault.

"Cat Nights" by Jane Manning

Danny and I read a cute little book last night, and sandwiched inside the covers of this library find is an old Irish legend. We thought it was fitting, then, that we tell you about both the book and the legend (because good kid books are kind of hard to come by, you know, and because it is almost time for that special Irish holiday).

The Book: “Cat Nights” by Jane Manning. Felicity loves living as a witch by day and a cat by night. She can’t turn herself into a cat for too many nights, though, because if she does, she’ll become a cat forever. Does Felicity choose the forever life of a witch or a cat? You’ll have to read to find out!

The Legend: The phrase “cat nights” came about because apparently, a witch could turn herself into a cat 8 times, then she could still return to her witchy self. But if she turned a 9th time, there was no going back. That’s where “cat has nine lives” comes from. And since cats like to prowl around on hot, summer nights (like in August), nights at that time of year are referred to as “cat nights.”

Yep, we liked this book. Check it out, because you might, too.

Joey (9 years old): “I think my beard is coming in.”

Me (the mom): “Oh, really?”

Joey: “Yes, look!”

He pointed to some blond peach fuzz on his neck (sweet, delicate, little-boy fuzz. Not a beard, just fuzz), then continued:

“Do you think it’s a little strange that I’m getting a beard?”

Me: “It is a little early.”

Joey: “I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or not.”

Yea, me either.

Bike Week 2010, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Among all of the duties we have as parents, exposing our boys to all sorts of stuff is a priority. That’s why we took them to Bike Week 2010 on Saturday. Danny’s had some “I love motorcycle” moments in his life (one Christmas, all he wanted was a toy dirt bike, and he always picks motorcycle racing when he games at my sister’s house), and Joey is usually up for anything car, boat or bike-related.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I really prefer that my guys don’t ride motorcycles at all, ever. Still, I thought the Daytona Beach event would be exciting. And for moments, it was (The Naked Cowboy and monster-sized snake were hits).

The Naked Cowboy and The Snake Guy

But Danny mostly moped, claiming his legs were too tired to walk up and down Main St., and Joey, well, he just wanted to get to the water to throw his cast net. And when I asked them both at the end of our maybe hour-long tour of this 69th annual extravaganza if they could see themselves as bikers when they grow up, the response was an overwhelming NO. And so we headed to a favorite fishing spot in Ormond Beach, where Joey and John dabbled at the shore and Danny sat with me in the car, playing his Nintendo DS. The game?

Yamaha Supercross.