“So we need to run to Target to get a birthday present, and don’t let me forget to – look, guys, an excavator! Ooh, and a big crane, you see it?”
It’s like I have a strange form of Tourette’s. I’ll be in the middle of a conversation and I’ll randomly shout out things like “Police car!” “Ambulance!” “Big red dump truck!”
As the mother of 2 boys, these sightings have become par for the course. Reflexively, I point out things of interest to them wherever we go, and they do the same.
“LOOK, MOM! A cement mixer!”
“Gah-bage tuck!”
I have to admit, I was almost excited as they were the time we passed a trailer on the highway that was carrying 2 tractors with wheels the size of a VW bug. You don’t see that every day. And while I find the endless readings of books about construction vehicles and farm equipment mind-numbingly boring, it IS sort of interesting to see them in action in real life.
What’s embarrassing is when my kids are not around and I lapse into truck-spotting-lady in front of other adults. My friends look at me like I’m crazy if we’re, say, having coffee on the patio at Starbucks and I go nuts pointing and waving when a helicopter flies overhead. Unless they have small boys, too, in which case they probably don’t even notice my weird tic.
Usually my random shout-outs are limited to large vehicles, but sometimes I like to point out wildlife, too. I was beside myself yesterday when I looked over at a stop sign and there was a family of little brown rabbits munching grass right next to me. And no one was in the car to share it with!!
Really, anything is worth pointing out to small kids, especially if they’re stuck in the car on a long trip or a round of boring errands. Look, kids! Balloons at the car dealership! A giant American flag on the roof of the bank! An electronic billboard advertising Hooter’s! Well, that’s just inappropriate...
So if you ever happen to be having a conversation with me and I cut you off to point out a dog wearing a sweater or one of those SmartCars that look like something Lowly Worm might drive, just ignore me. I’ll grow out of it eventually.
4/28/11
Look, Kids, a Backhoe!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Oh, this made me laugh.
We have 3 little boys and my poor husband was out on a lunch meeting, doing the driving, when suddenly a train went by and my husband shouted out, "TRAIN!"
The guy looked at him like he was nutz.
Funny--when I'm out with boy mama friends, they will do this too. And I'll say, look, a digger, and they're like, no, it's an EXCAVATOR. Girl moms are (mostly) spared from having to know these things. :)
You're funny! This is SO what I do with my kids also! And they do the same to me! Now that you've mentioned it, it does seem like a strange form of Tourette's.
Hey, as a mother of two little boys, I totally understand where you're coming from!
The sad thing is, my five year old, who used to be OBSESSED with everything constuction? He no longer has this love anymore! Now, when I say: "LOOK! A DIGGER!" he says: "Bo-ring!" That makes me sad! My youngest doesn't seem to care for them!
Love this!
Cracked me up. You and I must have the same Trucks book from Target. I now know a giant excavator from a skid steer. Honestly I said to my son yesterday after he pointed out a "big truck" that the truck was carrying what I believed to be a skid steer. If I ask Graham, "Who drives a police tow truck?" he says, "Officer!!" ha. Thankfully we live in a city where he can see a lot of this stuff.
LOL, that's hilarious! I was just doing that the other day out sans kid and caught myself before I shouted "BUS". In fact, I'm working on my own post about this at the moment- funny timing :)
OMG this is hilarious! I do the exact same thing, and my boy really doesn't care much about construction stuff. I just can't help myself! Fire trucks are the ones that get me. LOVE pointing out fire trucks.
Post a Comment