"What?" I ask.
"I got hair down there."
"Where?!"
"Down there. You know."
"No!"
"Yeah! You want to see?"
I thought about this for a moment. First, is it appropriate for a 10-year-old boy to ask his mother if she'd like to see his pubes?
In some households, maybe not. But I have never beaten around the bush, so to speak, regarding the birds and the bees. I get right to the point. No cutesy names, like "peach" and "fuzz" and "sprout." Ok, I think I used sprout once.
13-year-old Boo can't stand me seeing him shirtless, let alone show me his pubes. Or even his armpits.
Remy has happily showed me the one hair in his armpit--the one, I guess, that's on an exploratory mission to determine if it's safe for the others to grow there.
But even I was a little taken aback by his question. I'd like to think that most parents harbor a natural curiosity about their children's sexual maturity, and, if they're parents of boys...how amply endowed they are.
Or maybe that's just me.
I remember when I was a nursery school volunteer, I had to change this one kid's diaper. The kid had a button penis. I mean, it literally looked like a button and virtually no shaft. It was very odd. I've always thought Remy seemed pretty healthy in that department, and he's not shy about flaunting it.
So I guess he figured that I'd want to know. Just keeping me informed. As a pubic service. Hardy har.
So I thought about it and it seemed natural to say, "Why, sure." So he pulls his underwear down to display his equipment, and sure enough: a faint little field of dark hair had sprouted around his sprout.
He waited for a comment.
"Why, so you do, Remy," I said. "How about that? You're growing up!"
"Yeah. Here, check out my armpit. That hair is still there!" He seemed genuinely pleased with himself, not only for growing up, but in doing what I think he felt was his duty to keep me informed of his progress.
He's going to 6th grade in September. My little sprout is leaving the garden.
8 comments:
Oh, good god. I pray Daisy never tries to show me her equivalent. I think I'm probably safe on that front.
I wouldn't worry too much about that. Jeremy's always been upfront about potential disturbances down under, like a stray zit I have to identify. I guess I'm the genital go-to person.
I think my girls would chew off their own arm before they offered to show either one of us their nether regions. Hell, they lock each other out of the bathroom when they're in there. Lucky you.
H.
Jeremy's never really been shy in that department. Although I can't really imagine either you or the dh to welcome the overture: "why, sure, honey, show me what you've got." It's kinda different for girls.
My sprout, who I will call Scarlet, was so excited to share with her Dad a year ago(at the age of 10), that she was developing, and by some type of magic trick, her one boob was bigger than the other. And to no avail called her Dad in the bathroom to show him she had hair "down there". My husband appeared red in the face at that memorable moment and just said, I think Scarlet needs you!!! Now a year later and just about in a B cup and shaving the legs, among other bathing suit lines, I am holding my breathe!!!! My 13 y o son (Lefty), will not wear a cut-off shirt, because of the hair under his arms. He shaves his mustache once a week!!!! I am hoping all else is being kept clean. Both are pretty upfront with me. I think Scarlet is upfront with everyone, now it is teaching her when to keep quiet!!!!!
I think Boo started shaving too, but won't tell me. Boys are so weird.
I love the 4th of July, but why do we go through some of these traditions, again and again. My memory when I was a kid was throwing up at the parade in Cheltenham(where my grandparents lived) when the fire engines, like 20 of them all blew their sirens at the same time. My sick great uncle throwing fire crackers under chairs and laughing when an old ladies varicose veins hemorrhaged. Oh yeah these are my great memories. Hope I am making better ones for my kids. We go to a friends house for grub and swimming!!!!!
So NOW I see where your comment went to! That induced parade vomiting constitutes years of child abuse, I think. That would explain a lot.
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