The other night my husband returned from his version of mecca (Costco) with various items I requested (e.g. yogurt and paper towels) but also with items of his own choosing (e.g. muffins...and a ton of information on underwater cameras, their specs, rebates, etc.)
"Honey, I think I found THE Christmas present." He announced. "Max will love it in a few years." Translation: I think its really cool and I'd like to get it for me, but I'll site our nephew as the reason why and we'll hang onto it for a few years then I'll pass it onto him.
The last time he announced something like that we ended up with a bottle of 2004 Vintage Bordeaux (THE banner year of Bordeaux in decades). 2004 was the year Max was born and it seemed fitting for his nephew/Godson.
J immediately pulled up the a website about the gift in question. It was a book. The Dangerous Book for Boys. Apparently it was a best seller in the UK and I have to admit it was an intriguing concept...it also contained all sorts of things that I didn't give a rats ass about but someone with a Y chromosome would jump up and down on the couch for. Things like: 5 knots every boy should know, how to make a fireproof cloth, how to make a periscope, US coins, the history of pirates (ok, that one I'm interested in), and a whole two pages on the mysterious topic of girls. What I did love was the video clip associated with it. I particularly liked the go cart piece. After watching Edgar perfect his diving under the water while swimming stunt earlier this week (and I subsequently screamed, gasped for air, and freaked out...he was fine and J remained calm), I knew that what type of mother I will become and would not be ok with a go carting son. We also found this video clip as well.
As J was watching the clips and doing everything he could to contain his enthusiasm I realized two things: one, he will be a great dad and two, I wondered what the counterpart book was like for girls. There isn't one out yet, but I have researched it out and found that it may be a "booklet" not a book (WTF?) as well as it could be entitled something like: The Daring Book for Girls. Many a feminist blogger has taken offense to this. What exactly will they teach? How to throw a tea party? How to do first aid? How to walk in high heels? How to apply make-up? How to play hopscotch, cats cradle, or Mary Mack? How to bake a cake?
I will say this is exactly why I dropped out of Brownies. I can't say that my badge in how to upholster furniture (complete with a wooden block, some foam, and a cloth stapled around it) will ever get me anywhere nor is it anything I would want to pass onto my daughters. I remember being jealous that my husband and his boyscout troop were going ice caving/camping when we were in the 6th grade and asking why I couldn't go. Brownies did not prepare me for the real world.
Who knows, maybe Santa will bring my husband the book of his dreams only to find his wife late at night reading it under the covers with a flashlight. There might be something sexy about a woman who knows how to build a catapult.
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