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Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Stick People






































It has been four and a half years and I'm still learning about little boys, studying them as if they were seven-legged, three-headed curiosities beneath a microscope. As one of three sisters who became a mother to three more, my experience in this area has been limited. When mother's friends brought their young sons along on a visit, my sisters and I would line up to simply stare at them. Approaching age ten, the stares turned to giggles. We didn't know how to talk to them, play with them or what to do with them. In a way, I still don't. But I'm getting there!

My present day twin grandsons have taken me by the hand and introduced me to the place where little boys happily dwell. Monsters live there. So do "bad guys." Anything with wheels shouts "vroooom" and crashes into things. Sofas are caves of upended cushions. Elevated hearths are where you stand to cast your line and go "fishing." And sticks? Well, over here, sticks rule! Yard sticks, backyard sticks, regular sticks...any old stick will do. The boys run to grab them, leaving me, once again, speechless and staring. What the heck is it about those darn sticks?

One day last week grandpa moved the yardsticks and panic ensued. Our sticks! Where are they? We need our STICKS! Relief arrived in quickly subbed wrapping paper tubes, and once again there were swords to wield, barricades to erect, laser beams to focus, poles to fish with, and pointers and pokers for every need.

But little boys are okay with plain-brown-wrapper sticks and grandmas are not. So we fixed that.

When my favorite little "stick people" returned this week, their tubes were waiting for them, covered in bright wrapping paper. I offered additional multi-colored scraps for stripes and an abundance of streamers, stickers, and glue. We decorated them in the finest pageantry. And then we had a parade, hoisting high our sticks, roaring and chanting, taking turns in the coveted lead...upstairs, downstairs, inside and out, scattering cats like a shake of confetti in our wake.

After that, this grandma no longer wonders about sticks. I have my own now and am very, very happy to share cushioned caves concealing monsters and mount vroooming trucks in pursuit of bad guys to poke with the pointer I decorated alongside two little boys who fully understand how to be themselves and don't mind inviting grandma along for the ride!

22 comments:

  1. This is a great post!! You have a wonderful blog!! I'm your newest GFC follower from the “Meet & Greet” - this is my blog if you wanted to follow back: godsgrowinggarden.com
    Thanks
    Angie
    PS - Congrats on being the featured guest

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  2. What a fun post! Our two youngest boys spent their young years outdoors with sticks, wandering through the woods and whacking brush. It's such a boy thing. :-)

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  3. Yes, it's definitely a boy thing. My little boy loves sticks, he is collecting some from the garden as I type! But we have never made and decorated our own, this is something we must try!

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  4. I just love how I can feel your excitement in your words! You guys had so much fun! What a great way to make this so special by giving them special sticks instead of dumb old brown ones! I am so glad to have a grandchild and happier even to have a granddaughter because I would have been LOST with a boy! You make it seem so easy!

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  5. I loved this. I had daughters so boys are a mystery to me, too. I remember the first time I saw a two year old boy kick the van tires. My daughters never did that. It was then I realized how God put a boy together and I love it! In fact, one of them is spending a few hours with me today while the rest go see a live production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. He's just a bit young to appreciate it! The next visit we're "decorating" wrapping paper swords!

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  6. We only have grandsons - and they are a joy. Little boys can be so clever and so sweet. We have decorated tubes and they have become all sorts of things. Our oldest grandson will pick up a stick outdoors and play for hours with it - he slashes his way through enemy territory and makes life safe for the rest of us. Our middle grandson is the decorator - one of his favorite decorations is the sticky foam sheets from the dollar store - he can cut them into any shape and stick them on his cardboard tubes. Our youngest grandson hasn't discovered sticks yet - but when he does, look out. :-)

    Grandkids are the greatest - and it sounds like yours are enjoying you so very much.

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  7. Too funny. I'm the oldest of four and I do have a brother but he's almost a decade younger than I am so I didn't really grow up with him like I did my sisters, who are only a little younger than I am. Then my first child was a boy! I hadn't given parenting a boy very much though; when I was pregnant I just assumed it was a girl. It's not that I wanted a girl over a boy, I just didn't think I'd have a boy. He's a really amazing kid, though - he can make fun out of anything. I like having one of each just for the contrasts between them. :)

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  8. Hello I came to visit from the Meet and Greet. I am a new follower on Blog Lovin'. I can't wait to read more of what you write..
    Love
    Patricia
    www.thettdiaries.com

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  9. I only had brothers and sons, so my granddaughter is teaching me about girls. My grandson's favorite activity is to bring the hand truck up from the basement and haul stuff on it. My granddaughter's favorite activity is to have tea parties with my silver tea set and all the stuffed animals.

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  10. Stopping by (and following) from the hop :-)

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  11. I'm so glad you posted this! I have a new grandson, and girls are all I am used to, too! I will be getting "boy" tips from you- thanks!!

    And thanks for joining us for Let’s Get Social Sunday! I am now following you on Bloglovin!

    Hope you have a great week! :)

    Joy @ Yesterfood.blogspot.com

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  12. and stones!! you forgot stones! mine wants to take the gravel in my parking spot and throw it to the road or make piles with it, etc.

    This is such an adorable picture of them! love it!

    Scattering cats, ha ha ha

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  13. Thank you for the smiles and chuckles. My grandson loves, loves, loves those tubes along with sticks stones, shells, string, pulleys - anything that he can make a 'contraption' out of. The mind and imagination of a small boy is a truly marvelous thing. And, it is nice that they let us grandmas play once in a while too. :-)

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  14. How wonderful! Apparently those little boys never outgrow their passion for sticks. Whenever we visit family in the countryside, my husband and son pull out their pocket knives, find the perfect branches and start carving them into walking sticks! We've actually brought some of them back from France in my husband's golf bag!

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  15. Great smiles. They look very happy with their sticks. I used to always end up with a pile of sticks by my front door, which my son would add to whenever we went for a walk. Just like having a dog.

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  16. Cute pictures! Looks like fun! Hope you have a great weekend! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

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  17. Sometimes simple toys are the best! I am with your on not knowing what to do with a boy. I also have 2 sisters, and each of them has 3 daughters. It was quite a surprise when my 3rd child turned out to be a boy after all those girls! Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library!

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  18. Wanted to let you know I featured you this week on Mom's Library!

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  19. I love your writing style. Not only was your project fun, but it was fun to read about your life with boys. As a mom of three girls, I totally get it. I have no idea what to do with boys!

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  20. Look at those faces, oh the cuteness. My two little ones love the cardboard tubes my vinyl comes in, I never even thought about covering them, guess what I'll be doing very soon. Being Aussie our sticks also become didgeridoos :)

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