Last week, Emily posted about Asher’s “Thankful Tree,” and I had an afternoon to kill, so I stole her idea. Except that I did not use a pre-printed tree; instead, I drew my own and cut leaves out of construction paper. I did this because I am far more craftsy than Emily. (HAAAAAA. I wrote that to make myself laugh, because I have been fortunate enough to receive a handmade gift from Emily, and, tarust me on this, she wins the arts and crafts contest. Also, her handwriting is FREAKISHLY NEAT, whereas mine looks like a twelve-year-old boy’s.)
Here is where I’d post a picture of Jack standing proudly in front of his completed Thankful Tree, but I didn’t take one. So I can’t. And I just now took a picture of the Tree all on its own so you can see just how craftsy I am. I didn’t even hang it up straight, it’s over there on the wall all cock-eyed and mocking me. But I can’t post the picture because I can’t find the thingamabob that lets me transfer the photos to my computer. Secretly, I’m relieved, because it spares me the chore of transferring, resizing, and uploading the photo. How is it that the transferring, resizing, and uploading of photos is such an onerous task? It must be all the exhausting clicking.
I also blatantly stole Emily’s explanation of what “thankful” means, and told Jack that “We’re thankful for the things that make us happy that we are glad to have. Like, I’m thankful for you and Daddy and Nora.” I was trying to impress upon him the sort of high-class things we like to be thankful for in front of the whole world, but it didn’t quite work out that way.
I kept careful track of the order in which he listed the things he is thankful for, and here they are:
1. candy
2. cereal
3. Honey Bunnies (a specific kind of cereal)
4. shows
5. toys
6. lollipops (a specific kind of candy)
7. pictures
8. flowers
9. Nora (totally unprompted!)
10. the beach
11. snow
At this point, I started to try to get him to say he was thankful for me and Andrew and other family members, so I said, “What about people who are special to you? Are you thankful for anyone like that?” To which he replied, “Yes. Special people.” So. Number twelve.
12. special people
13. V (cousin on Andrew’s side)
14. Mommy
15. Daddy
At this point, he started casting about for ideas and sometimes listed things that he happened to see in the room. I am sure is IS actually thankful for cheese.
16. cheese
17. dolls
18. balloons
19. motorcycles
20. cars
21. swing sets
22. airplanes
23. bologna sandwiches
24. yellow trees
25. people’s houses
“Do you mean our house that we live in? Or just all people’s houses?” It was the latter. And at this point, I worried that his grandparents – whom he loves dearly – would have hurt feelings if they didn’t make the cut, so I suggested them, and the last five entries are:
26. Grampa
27. Gram
28. Grammy
29. Papa
30. Me
So there you have it. The most surprising entries are “the beach” and “V.” We didn’t even go to the beach this year, so I don’t know what made him think of it. As for his cousin V, it’s not that I am surprised he is thankful for her, it’s more that I am surprised his other beloved cousins were not mentioned.
Ah, kids. What goes on in their little heads?
3 comments:
Charlie made one of those and his turkey had two feathers-- Mama and Rossby (our dog). I'm just glad I made the cut!
haha. my explanation is that it is so incredibly obvious to him that he's thankful for you and Andrew, that he didn't even consider it worth mentioning. Like, it's as obvious as the fact that a sky exists and that we have air to breathe. Or maybe, he only listed things he "likes," not things he "loves." Is he literal like that? My brother totally was. :)
"How is it that the transferring, resizing, and uploading of photos is such an onerous task? It must be all the exhausting clicking."
Let me tell you something: I spent last night creating Christmas cards online, and I was BUSHED. No kidding. Darned computers. You'd think I'd painted and printed the silly things myself. BUSHED.
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