Let's Get Physical

My darling son is all boy. Boy. Boy. Boy. He loves sticks and mud and trucks and dirt and digging and trucks--did I already say trucks?--and trains and tools. With the exception of a brief interest in a doll stroller and that he occasionally calls this voodoo doll (a random marketing thing for some political site that we kept around because it cracks us up!) his "dolly" he is 100% boy.

He's also the most physical creature I've ever known. He is constantly climbing on Abel and me, jumping on us, tackling us. When we are watching TV, he wants to be sitting on our lap or our head. He attacks us, often knocking me off balance, for a running hug. He jumps, without warning, toward us from the bed or couch. If I happen to be laying down, he wants to sit on top of me or jump on me. Often first thing in the morning or after his bath, we'll lay down on the guest room bed to watch a little TV. He doesn't lay next to me, he lays on top of me (as my blanket, he tells me) or he kneels on me or he climbs up me or he falls onto me.

Get the picture?

And at the same time, he's so incredibly sweet and lovely. He's constantly giving us hugs and kisses. He'll take my head in his hands and pull me in for a kiss or hug. He'll pat my head or rub my back so sweetly. When we leave the park or playgroup, he almost always hugs and kisses his friends to say goodbye.

We've signed him up for an awesome nursery school in our town for September. Since the day we moved into town we've only heard wonderful things about this program. And, it's literally at the end of our block. How great is that?

I'm a tad bit nervous about their rules of not touching other kids and specifically not kissing other kids. I can totally understand the reasons behind these rules, certainly where preschoolers are involved the difference between a hug and a tackle depends if you are on the giving end or receiving end. So we've started talking to him about only kissing mama and dada. This summer, I'll start teaching him to not hug and kiss his friends at the park. And while I totally understand, it also makes me sad. I know we need to walk a fine line here--teaching him not to hug or kiss his friends while at the same time not inadvertently teaching him that hugs and kisses are bad things.