Tie your shoe
I keep returning to Nicholson Baker’s work. He is a master at turning the mundane into the delightful. In Baker’s, The Mezzanine, he reminds us of all the repetitious tasks we undertake each and every day. For instance, many of us learn to tie our shoes early on. These advances we learn remain with us for life, Baker describes, and they are some of our earliest memories. My mom points out, though, that velcro has mostly replaced shoelaces for toddlers, delaying the need for this lesson until later. Early in the year, teachers look for a student helper who can tie shoes and help other kids. How wonderful to be the shoe-tying expert for the class, the one the other kids seek out for help. It’s reminiscent of Mister Rogers, who taught us all to look for the helpers.
My boys had a gratifying advance this morning. The heat of the summer brought us to the store for water toys. I had thought we would get a baby pool, but when my boys spotted the water guns, I knew the decision was made. I looked at the price of the water guns, $5- the price was right. Part of me cringed to think my boys would have a toy with the word “gun” in it, but we still call them that even now all these many years later. I can remember playing with water guns in the long and hot Texas summers. We had the super-soakers, and the sonic super-soakers. You had to pump the water before blasting it at your friends.
Bulldozer, my middle child, held the package the whole way home. He wouldn’t be able to think of anything else, his grin from ear to ear. I filled up a bucket with water, remembering exactly how I did this as a kid. You take the cap off the top, plunge it down into the water, and watch for the bubbles to emerge from the tank. Once the bubbles stop, you can pull it out and fix the cap back on tightly. I demonstrated this for Bulldozer so he could control his own destiny. Those little moments of independence, how satisfying. I, too, will delight in chasing my children around, getting completely soaked by their advances. Their laughter fills our yard, as we look for the best spots to carry out our next sneak attack.
Reading List
Baker, Nicholson. The Mezzanine