Just You & Me: Blogs

“If you have a girl first, you know, they’re like angels and very crystal clear eyes… And then, you know, you have your boy, and you’ll look down at him and you’ll think, is he retarded?” - Tea Leoni

I read this quote at the gym the other day and nearly fell off the treadmill, I was laughing so hard. Yes, I think this is amusing. Yes, I have two boys. As I scoured the Web looking for this quote, I came across a number of mothers who were not at all amused. In fact, many of them vowed never again to see a Tea Leoni movie. Ok, so the term “retarded” is a tad harsh and may offend, but had I not just recently had a girl vs. boy encounter that morning maybe it wouldn’t have hit so close to home.

I spent the morning sitting on the gym floor at my son’s elementary school. It was the “dance” presentations for kindergarten-2nd grade. My 3-yr. old watched the performances along with me for 90-long minutes. Don’t get me wrong, the kids on stage were darling and had obviously practiced long and hard for this presentation. That’s not my point. My point comes from watching the show (again, let me remind you for 90 minutes!) with a 3 yr. old boy on my lap (well, kind of) and a 3 yr. old girl next to us on her mother’s lap.

A 3 yr. girl actually has the capacity to sit still and pay attention. Not only that, but she was completely entertained and enthralled by the big kids up on stage. Here’s what my son did in 90 minutes:
- picked his nose repeatedly
- bribed me with talk of the potty so he could get outside and attempt to climb the 50 ft. flag pool
- pressed every single button on the video recorder until I finally threatened him with the thought of never leaving this gym floor if he didn’t stop
- skidded around the floor on his back in circles
- tossed his stuff animal in numerous directions
- climbed on my back
- pulled on my hair

And, the list just goes on. No, I don’t think my son is retarded. Not even close. In fact, I was proud of him for making it through the presentation. He did an excellent job. But, when I read Tea Leoni’s quote I couldn’t help thinking of the little girl next to me. So sweet and so utterly amused. Ok, all girls aren’t like this and all boys aren’t like mine - trust me, I know. And, I’ve never thought that either of my boys is retarded. But, there is a difference and I do think it is worthy of notice. Now, ask me if I’ve ever asked myself if my husband is retarded…..

Boys do grow up to be men, ya know.

Here’s a great, funny article on the subject. Check it out:

http://www.literarymama.com/creativenonfiction/archives/000590.html