Me Tarzan, You Momma

This, obviously, is a BOY story. So, all you moms of boys out there, sit back, laugh, and know you're not alone. Those of you who don't have your own boys - well, laugh anyway....

Mason unloads the dishwasher for me as his chore. And what a chore. I know, because I've been doing it for years. Not that it's hard, just.... boring, repetitive, tedious.... Hey, you're a mom, so you understand. I'm very grateful for my dishwasher, but I must confess I tend to go brain-dead while emptying this particular machine.

I am also very grateful to have a son who is tall enough and responsible enough to be entrusted with this chore.

Today, I was trying to finish up an early prep of dinner while Melanie and Marsha "requested" their lunch, TJ sang at the bar (loudly), and Emma wanted help with Math. Oh, and Mason was unloading the dishwasher. You would think he might get lost in that mix, considering that unloading the dishwasher is such a, well, background kind of job. But, this is a boy I'm telling you about. So, it was no surprise that when Mason unloaded the two 1-cup measuring cups, they were immediately turned upside down so they could appropriately tap out a rhythm on my back, with vocal accompaniment, of course. All the while, Melanie and Marsha are squawking from the living room, TJ is still talking about something in a song he is creating as he goes, and Emma is continuing her math questions. At this point, I calmly ask Mason to cease and desist from pounding on my back. He is a boy and didn't quite understand that it was now time to actually put the measuring cups away. So, he moved over to Emma's back and resumed his rhythm and rhyme. Emma is, of course, having a hard time ignoring him but does attempt to continue her math discussion. I finally asked Mason to look at my face; once we had eye contact, I slowly said, "put them away, in the drawer, without further contact with anyone's body." He was quite willing to obey but obviously had no concept he was being, well, annoying.

In the midst of the chaos, my helpful best friend volunteered a title to this blog when she giggled and chirped, "Me Tarzan, You Momma." I'm pretty sure she was only laughing because her house was quiet.

But you know what? In the midst of hearing so many moms say they can't wait for school to start, I will be glad for the noise. I am so blessed by all of my children, especially my very own little drummer boy! What an adventure they bring to each and every day!

Mason and Fertility

Mason is a great kid. He's helpful, polite (mostly), smart, adventurous, kind, tough, gentle (when necessary), and generous to a fault. He loves to read, play football, build legos, wrestle with his dad or his kid brother - or just about anyone for that matter. He is a hard worker and already knows what chronic pain is but still smiles every morning when he hobbles into the kitchen for his medicines. He's great company and at that age where he's becoming aware of the world around him.

In all kinds of ways.

Wow. Mason's ten. He came into the kitchen while I was rolling sushi and asked, "Mom, was I born because of invitro fertilization?" Apparently TLC is more educational than I realized. Can that count as health class?

After I picked up my chin, I asked Mason what exactly he understood invitro to be. He did in fact have a basic understanding of the procedure. I told him that no, we had not had him through invitro. That was all I said - after all, I'm in the kitchen rolling sushi.

But he did tell me that when he grows up he's going to have children through invitro fertilization because the other way is just too germy. Kids.

Can he be ten forever?