behold boys, how they play rough

So over at Emily's today, I was holding Samuel on my lap and her son, Jonathan, came up and threw his plastic horse in Sam's face. Sharing, donchaknow.

You'd think this would make my boy-o cry. But it didn't. It made him laugh. It made him laugh a LOT. And, with such a positive response, Jonathan did it again and again And Sam KEPT laughing, every time, looking at Jonathan and chortling in frank encouragement. He laughed long and hard - I've rarely seen him so happy, and he's usually happy.

Emily then stepped in and made Jonathan do it "gently" and you know what? my son didn't think that was nearly so funny. In fact, he stopped laughing. He just looked mildly amused.

Oh dear, it's a boy. SUCH a boy. It reminds me of how my dad and brother can whack each other with swords while hooting with joy or how Adam and Josh can wrestle each other in painful jujitsu holds on the ground, laughing whenever anyone gets a good throw in. I recognized the laugh when I heard it; I just didn't know it started so young.

sign me: mother of one of King David's mighty men