Boys’ Dreams

At bedtime tonight I was reading Madeline to the boys.

It is a sweet book and has some great drawings of important places in Paris.  I thought if the boys recognized some landmarks, our trip to Paris this summer might be more fun.  (or, more precisely, I want to go to certain landmarks in Paris, and it will be much easier to go where I want to go if the boys think they want to go too.  Which is why we also read a book about Gargoyles – so they will also want to see Notre Dame…)

Anyway, in this book, little Madeline wakes up in the night and has to have her appendix out.  Later she shows her friends her scar on her stomach.  The boys wanted to know what a scar was; so I quickly explained the word and added that Owen has a scar on his forehead from the cut he got that was stitched up a while ago.

Not to be outdone by Owen, Jack launched into his own story about how he got his own “very big” scar (you know, back in ‘nam…  Seriously, is this where old-man fish stories start?  At three-years-old??) 

Mama: You have a scar?  Where is it?

Jack: (looking frantically about trying to find an appropriate spot on his body.)

Mama:  (changing tactics to lead Jack to the truth rather than to another “fish-story”) Are you telling a story about yourself, or are you trying to tell what you would like to have happen?

Jack: I’m saying that I want a scar.  I really, really want a scar!

Boys’ dreams…