There's a good reason I've been known as Catgirl on various Internet forums for the past eight years. It's because I like cats. A lot. I always have, and in the seventh grade, a classmate of mine christened me Catgirl because she thought it was hilariously funny that I usually had an issue of Cat Fancy magazine in my bag to read after tests or at lunch or whatever.
While I no longer decorate my walls with posters of cats and I no longer subscribe to Cat Fancy magazine, I'm still a cat lover and the only reason we have only one cat is because my husband says, "Jameson's a pain in the ass. Why do you want another one?"
My childhood obsession once led me towards vet school, and although I ended up changing my mind about attending, I've spent most of the past ten years working as a veterinary technician.
So I have to wonder...will my son's current obsession with tractors and farming last? Or will he move on to other interests?
My brother was really into dinosaurs and he also went through a phase where he liked pigs and frogs. His current job has nothing to do with dinosaurs, pigs or frogs. (Although he's becoming a father any day now, and I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall when he meets his first meconium diaper. That's probably as close to pigs as he'll ever get.)
My husband has always been fascinated by boats, so much that he bought one soon after he graduated from college and got a job. We sold the boat a few years ago, but John still loves all things nautical, and even took Johnny to the Inner Harbor this past weekend to check out the submarine Torsk. (John's college obsession with beer never went away either. But somehow I think that's different.)
One of his brothers was into airplanes and the other liked Volkswagons.
I'm wondering if Johnny's childhood obsession will be something that sticks around, or if he will outgrow it. The boy is fascinated by tractors, particularly any made by John Deere. He recognizes that distinctive shade of green from a distance and can tell the difference between a harrow, a plow and a combine. He has a pile of diecast John Deere tractors, John Deere t-shirts and a sweatshirt, and several books, not to mentioned a lamp that was a Christmas gift from a relative. And his big gift from John and I for this past Christmas was a battery powered ride-on tractor with a wagon and a scoop.
As I write, he's off at Home Depot with his daddy, choosing more seeds to plant, and he spent a large part of Sunday afternoon out in the yard, digging and mulching and weeding. He's actually quite good at it. And once the weather improves, we have plans for a cherry tomato plant in a large container that he can tend to. I'm hoping that if he grows it himself, he might actually voluntarily eat a tomato.
Every time he points out a tractor to me or catches a flash of that familiar John Deere green, I wonder. Do I have a Future Farmer of America on my hands? And would it be better for him to grow corn or soybeans?
While I no longer decorate my walls with posters of cats and I no longer subscribe to Cat Fancy magazine, I'm still a cat lover and the only reason we have only one cat is because my husband says, "Jameson's a pain in the ass. Why do you want another one?"
My childhood obsession once led me towards vet school, and although I ended up changing my mind about attending, I've spent most of the past ten years working as a veterinary technician.
So I have to wonder...will my son's current obsession with tractors and farming last? Or will he move on to other interests?
My brother was really into dinosaurs and he also went through a phase where he liked pigs and frogs. His current job has nothing to do with dinosaurs, pigs or frogs. (Although he's becoming a father any day now, and I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall when he meets his first meconium diaper. That's probably as close to pigs as he'll ever get.)
My husband has always been fascinated by boats, so much that he bought one soon after he graduated from college and got a job. We sold the boat a few years ago, but John still loves all things nautical, and even took Johnny to the Inner Harbor this past weekend to check out the submarine Torsk. (John's college obsession with beer never went away either. But somehow I think that's different.)
One of his brothers was into airplanes and the other liked Volkswagons.
I'm wondering if Johnny's childhood obsession will be something that sticks around, or if he will outgrow it. The boy is fascinated by tractors, particularly any made by John Deere. He recognizes that distinctive shade of green from a distance and can tell the difference between a harrow, a plow and a combine. He has a pile of diecast John Deere tractors, John Deere t-shirts and a sweatshirt, and several books, not to mentioned a lamp that was a Christmas gift from a relative. And his big gift from John and I for this past Christmas was a battery powered ride-on tractor with a wagon and a scoop.
As I write, he's off at Home Depot with his daddy, choosing more seeds to plant, and he spent a large part of Sunday afternoon out in the yard, digging and mulching and weeding. He's actually quite good at it. And once the weather improves, we have plans for a cherry tomato plant in a large container that he can tend to. I'm hoping that if he grows it himself, he might actually voluntarily eat a tomato.
Every time he points out a tractor to me or catches a flash of that familiar John Deere green, I wonder. Do I have a Future Farmer of America on my hands? And would it be better for him to grow corn or soybeans?
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8 comments:
It doesn't seem to me there are too many John Deere tractors floating around Baltimore..I guess he is going to have to move to the midwest and farm. I love the midwest farm fields!
Gonna have to transplant outta Balto :)
Interesting thought...I often wonder if their interests will even last till their next BDAY before I buy them something I see.
Some interests seem to hang on longer. I guess it is all part of growing up an dbeing exposed to different things.
Corn. The money is in corn these days.
Tell your husband that your cat might be less a pain in the ass if you had another cat to keep him company. It may not be true, but by then you'd have 2 cats! That's why we have 3... the 2 we had didn't like each other so we adopted a buffer that everybody gets along with. Diffused the situation quite well.
Definately plant the corn. Maybe it will bring our gas food prices back down someday if people plant more corn. I think its really neat that he loves his tractors so much. My son loves anything musical and has had a vast repitoire of songs to sing since he was about 18 months old. I've often wondered if he would grow up and be a musician, maybe not a rock star but I'd love to see him play an instrument somedayl.
After a life spent as a researcher, my husband retired here to our tree farm and has now purchased three (3!) lurid green and yellow noisy monsters. One tractor, one 'Gator' and a riding lawn mower. All ride on. I almost expect him to yell 'Whee'.
And the youngest grandkid has a 'My Grandpa rides a John Deere tractor' tee shirt. I think the things are, perhaps, addictive.
There are a lot worse lives than one spent growing things. My only regret with what we do now is that we did not start sooner.
Soy is easier on the earth...I think I read that somewhere. When I was little I loved cats too...and have always had a cat in the houses I've lived in. I always loved clothes...look where I ended up...yikes!!!
My 5 year old has a major obsession with Thomas the train:
http://boysrulemylife.blogspot.com/search/label/trains
And my 2 year old LOVES tractors!
We'd be growing soybeans... only because we deal with a dairy allergy and consume soy like there's no tomorrow! :)
He'll probably go through several obsessions before he's 12. My 7-yr-old grandson went through a Thomas the Train phase, then dinosaurs, then Bionicles, then trading cards, and on and on. It's so interesting to see what captures their attention in this way.
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