Shakespeare Amongst the Maples: A reminder of how things are

Some people see things as they are and say "Why." I dream things that never were and say "Why not." -George Bernard Shaw

I have been feeling very fragmented lately -- we are in the painful process of packing up one house, to prepare it for sale while looking around for another home. It has been a fraught experience, especially since, in addition to really bad allergies, I now have not two but THREE little boys to shepard about!

But life -- and children -- have a gift for reminding one of how things are. And my sons have a way of thinking the impossible and then articulating it as if it were obvious.

An example of this is a conversation I had with my youngest the other day. We were driving to the grocery store when, from the back of the car, a reflective voice asked 'Mommy, Does our President Obama believe that all people should be free?' As I was battling loony drivers at that moment, you can imagine what my inner response was (LOL) but outloud I said 'I think so.' The voice continued 'Then he should abolish the law!' (And yes, he used the word 'abolish') 'The law' I asked, 'Which Law?' 'All of them' he responded promptly, 'because they keep people from being free to do as they want.' Awck. A budding anarchist!

When my mother heard this, she laughed and laughed and then asked why I hadn't explained about the limitations on the President's powers. I told her, 'The LAST thing that I want to do is discuss supreme executive power with this child!' He is, after all, the little boy who, while we were watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech -- became disgusted because no one was paying him any attention. In frustration he yelled out 'I DON'T LIKE PRESIDENTS! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT A LOT OF CONFUSED NOISE!' I gave my tearful child a hug and laughed a bit only to hear him inform his brother a short time later that 'when I grow up, I am going to be President. No one else is doing the job!'

And jobs are very much in the boys' minds these days. Both boys live Shaw's creed: they dream and wonder 'why not'? Daily, it seems, they conceive of new and different ways to make money. Some are fairly pedestrian: lemonade stands, mowing lawns but quite a few are extravagent wonders -- opening a restaurant where you 'make your own' pizza and desserts, becoming professional shell collectors. Some are future oriented: They want to grow up to be archeologists, paleoentologists, astronauts. Others are humorous: My eldest stated, with a wicked gleam in his eyes, that he wanted to grow up to be like his father. Then, as his father began to puff up with pleasure, he dropped the other boot, 'A MAD SCIENTIST!' I had to giggle at that one because Tom has, in fact, been labed 'our pet Mad Scientist' by his co-workers.

The one area in which Shaw's creed is immediately evident is in the world of art and story telling. Both boys are gifted (in my modest opinion) with artistic talent. Here are few examples of Xander's 'creatures' -- He even has one composition: "Man Walking Dog' hanging in the Church gallery. Jason also has a couple of works there -- from his 'Captain Wavy Cape' comic series

This, by the way, has been another idea for generating revenue: Jason has been thinking of starting a community wide newspaper, going door to door to collect stories from neighbors, writing them up and publishing them -- and in this newspaper, of course, there would be comic strips... He has also thought about publishing a book of the valiant captain's adventures.