The Hunter

Whenever I used to imagine myself with a child, I always invisioned one that would behave somewhat like I did when I was little. What I never considered is that boys could be so different from girls. If you don't believe in this gender difference, you need to talk to someone who works at a preschool or daycare.

There was no way that I was going to assign any gender stereotypes to my son. If he liked pink, fine - in fact, he wouldn't ever be caught in pink. If he liked dolls, fine - in fact, he never displayed any interest in dolls other than in pretending to change their diapers when he was really small. If he loved to draw and colour, fine - in fact, he will occasionally deign to engage in artwork for limited periods. And there I am, collecting art supplies, buying colouring books.

So he lost his first baby tooth today. And I do mean lost - we went out for a while and when we came back home, there he was, looking like a hockey player (I have no idea where the tooth vanished to.) Now, if he was at all like I was as a child, he would be busy making a note for the tooth fairy and figuring out what to leave for the fairy (just for good karma).

But, oh no, oh no, not my son. He raced out to the art table (our dining room table) and madly began to apply as much glitter glue as possible to a piece of paper. I thought, "aha, he's making a picture for the tooth fairy."

I left him alone until he asked that I go upstairs with him. When I asked why, he said "because I need to put the sticky glue trap for the tooth fairy in my bedroom". Yes, my son is not interested in making friends with the tooth fairy but he is very excited about trapping the poor little sprite. Lord know what his plans are after that - extort greater payment for the tooth? Strange experiments on the tooth fairy? I try not to think about it too much.

DinoD