In Other News, Water is Wet

My son, being three years old, is naturally fascinated with water. Any time I need him out from underfoot for a few minutes while I make dinner, or fold laundry, or unload the groceries, I can always keep him busy by letting him play with water in the sink.

His fascination with water started very early, in the bathtub. Many babies hate baths at first, but my son loved the water as soon as he could kick his feet and make it splash.

 

When he got big enough to play with bubbles, tubby toys, and bathtub crayons, he would gladly have stayed in the tub until he shriveled up like a raisin.

And when summer came and he had an entire pool to play in, my otter baby was in his glory.

 

So what is it about water that is so fascinating? Is it how it looks, how it feels, how it sounds, how it moves? I think it’s all of those things, and more. Water can run through your hands, fly into the air, separate into tiny droplets then join together into a puddle. It can make a sprinkle of sugar or salt disappear, turn a blob of soap into a froth of bubbles, and change a pinch of dull-colored powder into a cup of brightly flavored drink. It can make your shirt stick to you. It can transform boring dirt into delightful mud. It can be as huge as an ocean, with waves that knock you over. It can be as tiny as a drop of dew sparkling on a flower petal. It can be a home to snails and tadpoles and sea stars and sharks and octopi.

(Photo taken by my son at the New England Aquarium.)

It can fall from the sky. It can bubble up from the earth. It can turn hard, crunchy pasta into delicious, chewable dinner. It can cool you off on a hot day – either by pouring it on your outside or by pouring it into your inside. It can make a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

When you stop and think about all the things that water can do, it’s surprising that we adults don’t spend more time playing with it. It is pretty amazing stuff, after all. And best of all, it’s WET!!

You've Got a Friend in Me

Last night, my husband and I took both kids out to dinner with us. When we got to the restaurant, a mom with two kids around my son’s age was just going in. The little girl came right over to us and said hello to my baby daughter. My son said hello to her, then the little boy came over and showed off the toy car he had brought with him. The two boys immediately formed a mutual admiration society while the two girls were happily grinning at each other. As soon as we went inside the restaurant, the three mobile kids marched away in a little parade, leaving the waitstaff amused but completely confused as to who was in which party. We eventually got ourselves straightened out and seated at our own tables, but I have no doubt that if my son sees either of those two kids again, he’ll run to them with open arms. In those few moments, he had forged a lifelong friendship – in his mind, anyway.

That’s such a wonderful thing about social kids like my son. He doesn’t care if another kid is wearing designer jeans or a ripped T-shirt. It doesn’t matter to him whether the other kid lives in a gorgeous mansion or a seedy Section 8 apartment. He doesn’t even really care if the kid is into cars or Curious George or counting fire hydrants. If that other kid is willing to run around and chase him, or slide down a slide with him, or just look at ceiling fans with him, they’re friends. He can find some kind of commonality with anyone. “Willing to talk to me” is pretty much his friendship standard. Actually, he’ll take “willing to listen to me” in a pinch.

Wouldn’t it be nice if adult friendships were so easy to make? Instead of standards like, “Are you around my age? Do we have kids the same age? Did we go to college together? Do we share a hobby? Do you have the same political leanings as I do? Do you enjoy the same books and movies that I do?” we’d have standards like, “Are you breathing? Are you standing next to me right now? Do you speak English?” And even that last one would be negotiable. Instead of having to make small talk to find out where someone lives or what they do for a living, we could break right into, “You want to go to the mall with me?” or “How about we both go jump in that puddle?” Personally, I think that being willing to jump in a puddle with someone is a better basis for a friendship than the fact that you happen to have seen the same movie recently.

Anyone want to come jump in puddles with me?