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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Extraction by fair means or foul



I decide that I no longer care for Amazon’s packaging system.

It has degenerated from ‘open with a pair of scissors and collapse the box with a cleaver,’ to ‘open box with a chain saw.’

I have struggled to extract the contents for some minutes but avoided drawing blood.

My youngest son presents himself before me, amid the carnage of the semi opened packages. He pauses to gain composure and then makes his announcement.
“Look mummy! I am choosed my own cloves.”
“Indeed! And you put them on your body too!”

I cheer, as wonder how he has managed to squeeze himself into clothes put aside for the rag bag. Not only has he physically grown three of four inches since he last wore that ensemble, but it would appear that he also branches out into other pastures new. It is a rare moment to witness, when your child does something willingly, independently and successfully. Not even a prompt. I remind myself, again, that this is what independence looks like. It may not be my version but it’s still undeniable. I admire my corseted son and his cheesy grin for a job well done.

The sleeves are tight enough to restrict blood flow. The hem of his T-shirt gradually creeps up. The waistband on his trousers, slowly creeps down. The bikini effect. I wonder if I should suggest a change of attire but don’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. It occurs to me, that this may be a gift in disguise. Nudity will be a thing of the past, since he will be unable to remove his skin tight clothing. Now that’s what I call a fringe benefit! I’ll need a can opener to extract him myself, or maybe a chainsaw?

He sucks in his cheeks and puckers his lips, goldfish style to ask, “why I am not dah puffer fish?”
“Er well, you certainly swim like a fish.”
Or rather a crab! He groans as he exhales and his tummy pops out.
“No! I am meaning that I need to be small, er smaller……fin as dah puffer fish when he is not puffed.”

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your lovely son has a wonderful imagination.

Crystal xx

Jeni said...

Sometimes, Maya makes semi-attempts at self-dressing but usually her getting dressed amounts more to making specific request -no, make that DEMANDS -of what it is, EXACTLY, that she insists on wearing each day. If she's this "fashion conscious" now, what the heck is she gonna be like when she's a teenager? I cringe at those thoughts.

dgibbs said...

"fin as dah puffer fish when he is not puffed.”

I need to be that as well sometimes.

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful moment with your son! i love his thoughts...he is so clever. my son is fond of wearing halloween costumes...all the time. not fun trying to tell him he can't go about town as spiderman.

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Jade said...

:-) what an awesome moment. Congrats on your little one doing an unprompted changing of clothes. I work for months with my clients just to put their shirt on the right way! Though I'm sure you've put in your hours of "practice time" with him.
Its always very cool to see that all the work pays off. It may be inconsistent but its better than never!

Mary P Jones (MPJ) said...

It's good to know what independence looks like -- and that it's not always what we expect, but it's still wonderful in a new way.

Linda said...

"fin as dah puffer fish when he is not puffed.” I love your son's logic! Unfortunately, I am as fat as dah puffer fish when he is puffed!

 
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