Yesterday my son forgot his pants. I don't mean that he failed to pack them, I mean that he failed to wear them. He also forgot to take off his pyjama bottoms. I am assuming he was interrupted at this vital 'dressing' moment by something incredibly important like What's New Scooby Doo?. Well that or he was stumped as usual by being asked to process two things at once - 'get dressed and brush your teeth'. I mean, really, with intricate and detailed instructions like that, you have to expect a 50% failure rate. Surely?
I tell you this, not to humiliate my delightful, if absent-minded offspring, but rather to underline how incredible it is that he does manage to remember nearly half the names of plants in his garden. When you consider that he's currently growing nearly 40 species in that space, you will understand how impressive I find this. Admittedly, we're not talking Latin names yet, but give me time, give me time...
I'm also quite amazed by how keen he is to see improvements to his plot. He insisted on adding a vegetable garden and is currently considering moving out his Lambs ear as it's too big and also swapping over a couple of other plants which he feels are swamped in their present position.
Best of all, he runs to check on his garden as soon as he comes home from school and likes to give visitors a tour of the area when they come over. I'm only surprised he hasn't thought to charge admission yet. Still, from a boy who occasionally finds 'remembering underpants' a step too far, perhaps this is asking too much.
Frankly, this doesn't surprise me Dawn. I know the lad's father and while he can recall the names of the 1973 FA Cup-winning Sunderland team, he regularly fails to remember that to travel across international borders one needs a passport.
Posted by: Mark | June 28, 2010 at 02:03 PM
He is a boy and they really can't do two things at once like men :-) I have a son and daughters and they are so different in that way. I am sure he will start charging entry soon :-)
Posted by: Scented Sweetpeas | June 28, 2010 at 02:20 PM
Love it! He rocks... long live commando's!
Posted by: Kate Greenwood | June 28, 2010 at 02:37 PM
Well, I see the processing problem as one of a lack of consistent instructions. If you had asked him to brush his teeth and brush his hair, he'd have accomplished both.Put on your pants, and your socks = same result. But brush your teeth and get dressed = confusion.It's akin to go for a swim and bake a cake. Just count yourself lucky he didn't brush his clothes.
Nice that he is proud as punch of his little garden. A good sense of ownership.
Posted by: Roland | June 28, 2010 at 07:42 PM
Mark - you make a fair point. The apple has indeed not fallen far from the tree. Also, I beleive he has, on occasion, forgotten his pants too.
SS - you are so right - boys and girls are very, very different creatures.
Kate - Hmmm... I am now concerned about your dedication to the commando cause.
Roland - I am indebted to you for this profound insight into the male psyche!
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | June 29, 2010 at 12:44 PM
My own absent-minded little son (now 25 and 6 feet tall) once phoned me, in high dudgeon, from school to say that he'd worn his slippers to school by mistake, and that I HAD TO BRING HIS SHOES RIGHT NOW. Sadly, he has shown not the slightest interest in applying that energy to gardening.
Your son sounds like a gem, and if you weren't already parenting so well I would offer to adopt him.
Posted by: Helen at Toronto Gardens | June 29, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Helen - I'm tempted to offer a child-share...
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | June 30, 2010 at 01:57 PM
How old is he? He sounds brilliant, pants and garden and all. I never managed to get mine interested in the garden at all when they were children. In fact the sound of a long suffering sigh as we went into yet another garden centre would be part of the soundtrack of their childhood. Son is now as an adult quite interested and daughter is passionate and runs a garden and two allotments so perhaps it was just slower to rub off with mine!
Posted by: elizabethm | July 04, 2010 at 11:44 PM
Elizabeth - he's nearly five and, yes, an enchanting soul. I do think something must rub off during a garden-infused childhood even if it takes a while to emerge. Well that's my hope anyway and you seem to bear testimony to the idea.
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | July 09, 2010 at 01:14 PM
Wish, wish, wish I had a garden so that I could get my son to start reciting plant names. My son looks out of our window and names all the emergency services and copies their individual sirens!
Posted by: Troutie | July 09, 2010 at 11:51 PM