When a fearless nut of a 3-year-old finally meets his match
One of my favorite photos ever was shot across the breakfast table from my grandson Max. Toast cast aside, eggs left for the vultures and his little plastic spoon slowly sinking into a pool of forgotten applesauce, he’d been called into duty once again by a supersized imagination. Breakfast time had ended with a countdown, and I caught his rocket plane “speed jet” mid-liftoff. Buzz Lightyear, plastic astronaut of Star Command, stood nearby, arms lifted in victory. There was no turning back from this mission. Breakfast was officially over.
Max is a nut. I’m just going to admit that right now. Whatever it is that makes little boys goofy, tireless and shockingly durable, it seems the boy has been given a double dose. If they issued a list of superlatives in the preschool yearbook, Max would undoubtedly be voted “most likely to become a bull in the china shop of life.”
Still as rough and ready as he seems, Mama and Grandma Gee Gee persistently endeavor to nurture his soft side as well. After all, he’s not entirely about smashing bugs and eating things off the ground. He also happens to be a wonderful big brother to his baby sister Sadie and an almost tolerable playmate to his older and soon-to-be-smaller brother James.
While I kicked around the idea of a monster truck show for Max’s third birthday, Kristin beat me to the punch by booking seats for the entire family at a show featuring fun, little puppy dogs. Kristin showed Max a short promo video of the show, to which Max exclaimed, “Puppies! I’m gonna grab them!”
In what may have been a lucky break for the puppies, the show was canceled before Max’s big day. Undaunted, Kristin set out to find similar entertainment, and we wound up in a theater with a hundred other kids and their families watching a “safari guy” pull lizards, chinchillas and armadillos out of variously sized plastic storage tubs.
Big on audience interaction, this was by far a better choice for the boys, as not only could they marvel over the spectacle at close range, but also each kid in the crowd had the chance to touch the animals. Max’s enthusiasm, coupled with a shirt that declared him “Birthday Boy” in large fluorescent letters, quickly won the notice of the safari guy, who made a note to save the big reveal of his final animal just for Max.
Calling him up in front of the crowd, he asked Max to lift the lid on the last and largest tub. A chill ran up the spine of each of Max’s accompanying adults as we recalled the boy’s previous “I’m gonna grab them!” comment, and we held our collective breath, hoping for uncharacteristically good behavior.
No worries. There would be no manhandling of this particular critter, not even by the boldest of 3-year-olds. Fluffy puppies are one thing, but 6-foot-long ball pythons are entirely another! Maybe he’ll save that fascination for his teenage years.
Kristin and John Lorson would love to hear from you. Write Drawing Laughter, P.O. Box 170, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, or email John at jlorson@alonovus.com.