Wants and Needs
Most weeks this summer Sam and Jake are at a nearby YMCA. They play sports, swim, take field trips. They've gone to Hawaiian Falls, the Trinity River Audubon Center, the Dallas Zoo, the Dallas Arboretum ... and today, a recycling and waste management facility east of Dallas. Wait. What?
On one hand a trip to a recycling center might be interesting and educational, but the disclaimer we had to fill out (as we do for all field trips - this one doesn't pose any additional danger) consistently referred to the facility as "the landfill."
Needless to say Sam didn't want to go. It probably didn't help that in my knee-jerk reaction to the field trip newsletter, I happened to mention that a waste management facility was where they treated household waste. "You mean it's where they make poop?" Jake asked. No. Better!
But back to Sam. I waffled between feeling really sorry for him and being aggravated with him. I mean, I wouldn't want to go to a landfill on a 105-degree day, no matter how interesting or educational it might be. But on the other hand, buck up, man. Without sounding like an old grouch, there are dozens of things I do every day that I don't want to do. Granted, none of them requires visiting a landfill. But a pap smear, scooping Tag the Dog's poop, hosing out a garbage can full of maggots, fishing a sour rag out of the garbage disposal ... those come close.
So I told him it was his decision. On any given field trip, a few kids stay back because they forgot permission slips or the required t-shirt. So, I told him, "I'm letting you be the grown up. You decide."
I think he'll go. He'll grin and bear it and probably end up enjoying it. That's one of the great things about that kid. He truly sees something good in just about every situation. He could teach me a thing or two.
On one hand a trip to a recycling center might be interesting and educational, but the disclaimer we had to fill out (as we do for all field trips - this one doesn't pose any additional danger) consistently referred to the facility as "the landfill."
Needless to say Sam didn't want to go. It probably didn't help that in my knee-jerk reaction to the field trip newsletter, I happened to mention that a waste management facility was where they treated household waste. "You mean it's where they make poop?" Jake asked. No. Better!
But back to Sam. I waffled between feeling really sorry for him and being aggravated with him. I mean, I wouldn't want to go to a landfill on a 105-degree day, no matter how interesting or educational it might be. But on the other hand, buck up, man. Without sounding like an old grouch, there are dozens of things I do every day that I don't want to do. Granted, none of them requires visiting a landfill. But a pap smear, scooping Tag the Dog's poop, hosing out a garbage can full of maggots, fishing a sour rag out of the garbage disposal ... those come close.
So I told him it was his decision. On any given field trip, a few kids stay back because they forgot permission slips or the required t-shirt. So, I told him, "I'm letting you be the grown up. You decide."
I think he'll go. He'll grin and bear it and probably end up enjoying it. That's one of the great things about that kid. He truly sees something good in just about every situation. He could teach me a thing or two.
posted by Romine Family at 10:29 AM
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