WHAT ARE LITTLE BOYS MADE OF?
By
Gail Gardner
WAP!! WHANG!! WAP! BONK! BANG! WAPWAPWAP!!
The little blond haired boy happily beat the pots and pans scattered around him with a wooden spoon. The banging was a rhythm for the rest of the normal morning noise of the household.
"Moooom! Where's my math book?" A boy's voice called from his room.
"Right where you left it dear." The mother didn't miss a beat in stirring the morning oatmeal that would fuel her family for the morning. Stacks of toast, jars of jam, cheese, ham and other breakfast paraphernalia already graced the large oak table that dominated the warm country-style kitchen. A pot-bellied thermos held hot chocolate while the enticing adult aroma of fresh coffee burbled in the percolator.
"Boys!" Lucille's sweet voice rose over the normal noises of the house. "Breakfast!" She swooped down to pick up the five year old would be percussionist and deftly disarmed him of the wooden spoon. He was plopped into a high chair that was perspicuously bolted to the floor. He immediately began to push on the table in an attempt to tip the chair over.
"Nice try Alan. But no banana." His brother John, 10 years old, slid into his chair next to him and reached for toast.
"Nana!! Wanna nana!" Alan began to yell.
"Thank you John." His mother gave him a glare. "We are out of bananas this morning."
"Here sprout." Virgil plopped into his chair and handed the noisy little boy a piece of cheese to savage. "This is a banana."
"Alan is going to grow up confused at this rate." Scott took his place next to Virgil.
"So what else is new?" Virgil asked as his mother set a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of him. He reached for the sugar bowl.
"Only two." His mother reminded him even though her back was turned.
"Is Virgil getting fat?" John asked and ducked the side swipe neatly.
"This is muscle, boy." The twelve year old thumped his chest.
Jeff Tracy came into the kitchen with the red-haired Gordon tucked under his arm. He stopped at the stove to give his wife a very thorough kiss which provoked cat calls and groans from the boys around the table.
"Mush!!" Alan yelled at a whispered prompting from John.
"Looking to take out the garbage for the next week?" Jeff smiled wolfishly at the older blond brother.
"No, sir!" John bent his head over his toast and jam ignoring the kicks that were sent his way under the table.
Gordon was seated strategically between his parents. Accidents just seemed to follow the seven year old around. His parents were beginning to be suspicious on just how innocent the tipped over milk glasses and other small catastrophes that happened in and around Gordon.
"Father said a bad word." Gordon announced to the table and reached for the hot cocoa thermos. His mother intercepted it deftly and poured for him. She raised a mobile eyebrow at her husband.
"Stepped on a Lego." He muttered around a piece of toast.
"You didn't step on our model, did you?" Thirteen year old Scott looked alarmed. He and Virgil had been building their own moon base for the last month. It had taken over most of their floor space and all the boys combined stash of Legos, including Alan's Duplos.
"No, Scott. The offending piece was in the hall."
"I might vacuum …" Lucille threatened.
"We'll be more careful. Pleeaase Mom?" Virgil looked at his mother with dark soulful eyes that matched her own.
"I'll vacuum when I get home from school." Scott promised.
"You got a deal Buster." Lucille winked at her husband.
Breakfast dissolved into a satisfied murmur of six men and one woman eating in harmony. Gordon tipped over his juice glass, but luckily he had already drunk most of it. He endured his mother's mild scolding with an angelic smile.
Jeff Tracy sipped his coffee and basked in the complete happiness of his family. He had quit the Air Force last year to start his own company, Tracy Industries. It was a demanding job, and he hoped in the long run it would give him more time to spend with his family.
His gaze passed over his five lively sons and settled on his beautiful wife. No one would figure her for the mother of five. She cooked, cleaned, raised the boys with love and discipline, and kept her husband madly in love her for 15 years.
He cleared his throat and got the attention of everyone except Alan who was testing the gravity of toast.
"Grandma called me this morning…"
Faces brightened visibly around the table. Scott and Virgil nudged each other excitedly. Grandma was always good for a new box of Legos or paints or vids that just had to been seen.
"Grandma - candy!" Gordon waved a spoon spattering jam across the table. His brothers ducked instinctively.
"She's coming for a visit next week." Jeff waited patiently for the cheer led by his own wife to die down.
"And she'll be babysitting you," Scott looked sour at the term 'baby sitting'. "While your mother and I spend a week in Switzerland skiing." He sat back with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Jeff!" Lucille wasn't easily startled anymore, not since John's pet snakes escaped and infiltrated the house's plumbing system
Gordon, revealing more physical agility than his parents had ever realized, ducked neatly out of the way as his mother threw herself at her husband.
"Oh Jeff!" The boys might have learned more about their parent's love life if Alan hadn't decided that attention was needed elsewhere.
"MUSH!" He yelled with no prompting.
"Oh my." Lucille Tracy wiped her eyes with the hanky offered by her husband. "Jeff, I couldn't possibly…there's Virgil's practice sessions, Scott's dentist, the…"
"All taken care of." Jeff raised her hand to his lips. Lucille never complained, but Jeff had noticed that she had been tired lately, plus he wouldn't mind a little time with her without some other young feller claiming her attention. It was about time that he came first.
By
Gail Gardner
WAP!! WHANG!! WAP! BONK! BANG! WAPWAPWAP!!
The little blond haired boy happily beat the pots and pans scattered around him with a wooden spoon. The banging was a rhythm for the rest of the normal morning noise of the household.
"Moooom! Where's my math book?" A boy's voice called from his room.
"Right where you left it dear." The mother didn't miss a beat in stirring the morning oatmeal that would fuel her family for the morning. Stacks of toast, jars of jam, cheese, ham and other breakfast paraphernalia already graced the large oak table that dominated the warm country-style kitchen. A pot-bellied thermos held hot chocolate while the enticing adult aroma of fresh coffee burbled in the percolator.
"Boys!" Lucille's sweet voice rose over the normal noises of the house. "Breakfast!" She swooped down to pick up the five year old would be percussionist and deftly disarmed him of the wooden spoon. He was plopped into a high chair that was perspicuously bolted to the floor. He immediately began to push on the table in an attempt to tip the chair over.
"Nice try Alan. But no banana." His brother John, 10 years old, slid into his chair next to him and reached for toast.
"Nana!! Wanna nana!" Alan began to yell.
"Thank you John." His mother gave him a glare. "We are out of bananas this morning."
"Here sprout." Virgil plopped into his chair and handed the noisy little boy a piece of cheese to savage. "This is a banana."
"Alan is going to grow up confused at this rate." Scott took his place next to Virgil.
"So what else is new?" Virgil asked as his mother set a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of him. He reached for the sugar bowl.
"Only two." His mother reminded him even though her back was turned.
"Is Virgil getting fat?" John asked and ducked the side swipe neatly.
"This is muscle, boy." The twelve year old thumped his chest.
Jeff Tracy came into the kitchen with the red-haired Gordon tucked under his arm. He stopped at the stove to give his wife a very thorough kiss which provoked cat calls and groans from the boys around the table.
"Mush!!" Alan yelled at a whispered prompting from John.
"Looking to take out the garbage for the next week?" Jeff smiled wolfishly at the older blond brother.
"No, sir!" John bent his head over his toast and jam ignoring the kicks that were sent his way under the table.
Gordon was seated strategically between his parents. Accidents just seemed to follow the seven year old around. His parents were beginning to be suspicious on just how innocent the tipped over milk glasses and other small catastrophes that happened in and around Gordon.
"Father said a bad word." Gordon announced to the table and reached for the hot cocoa thermos. His mother intercepted it deftly and poured for him. She raised a mobile eyebrow at her husband.
"Stepped on a Lego." He muttered around a piece of toast.
"You didn't step on our model, did you?" Thirteen year old Scott looked alarmed. He and Virgil had been building their own moon base for the last month. It had taken over most of their floor space and all the boys combined stash of Legos, including Alan's Duplos.
"No, Scott. The offending piece was in the hall."
"I might vacuum …" Lucille threatened.
"We'll be more careful. Pleeaase Mom?" Virgil looked at his mother with dark soulful eyes that matched her own.
"I'll vacuum when I get home from school." Scott promised.
"You got a deal Buster." Lucille winked at her husband.
Breakfast dissolved into a satisfied murmur of six men and one woman eating in harmony. Gordon tipped over his juice glass, but luckily he had already drunk most of it. He endured his mother's mild scolding with an angelic smile.
Jeff Tracy sipped his coffee and basked in the complete happiness of his family. He had quit the Air Force last year to start his own company, Tracy Industries. It was a demanding job, and he hoped in the long run it would give him more time to spend with his family.
His gaze passed over his five lively sons and settled on his beautiful wife. No one would figure her for the mother of five. She cooked, cleaned, raised the boys with love and discipline, and kept her husband madly in love her for 15 years.
He cleared his throat and got the attention of everyone except Alan who was testing the gravity of toast.
"Grandma called me this morning…"
Faces brightened visibly around the table. Scott and Virgil nudged each other excitedly. Grandma was always good for a new box of Legos or paints or vids that just had to been seen.
"Grandma - candy!" Gordon waved a spoon spattering jam across the table. His brothers ducked instinctively.
"She's coming for a visit next week." Jeff waited patiently for the cheer led by his own wife to die down.
"And she'll be babysitting you," Scott looked sour at the term 'baby sitting'. "While your mother and I spend a week in Switzerland skiing." He sat back with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Jeff!" Lucille wasn't easily startled anymore, not since John's pet snakes escaped and infiltrated the house's plumbing system
Gordon, revealing more physical agility than his parents had ever realized, ducked neatly out of the way as his mother threw herself at her husband.
"Oh Jeff!" The boys might have learned more about their parent's love life if Alan hadn't decided that attention was needed elsewhere.
"MUSH!" He yelled with no prompting.
"Oh my." Lucille Tracy wiped her eyes with the hanky offered by her husband. "Jeff, I couldn't possibly…there's Virgil's practice sessions, Scott's dentist, the…"
"All taken care of." Jeff raised her hand to his lips. Lucille never complained, but Jeff had noticed that she had been tired lately, plus he wouldn't mind a little time with her without some other young feller claiming her attention. It was about time that he came first.