`Dat's Just What Boys Do.'

Julie has three sisters and no brothers. So you can imagine what it was like for her when her first three children were boys. Growing up she played games like "Beauty Pageant" and "Dress Up" and other assorted uninteresting activities. It's beyond me how she survived childhood without having dart fights in the house, amping up the Fourth of July party by blowing things up with homemade sparkler bombs, or playing "Smear the Queer" with the neighborhood homies. She had so much to learn about boys. Such as how the outdoors are their bathroom, or how wrestling, roughhousing and indoor football are all excellent activities, or even how the funniest conversations for boys usually involve discussing some sort of bodily function -- passing gas is best -- underwear, being buck naked or, best of all, a combination of all of those. Even after 19 years of sons, she's still learning lessons about boys.

The most recent lesson occurred recently when a fashion trend swept the young Sabo boys. As best I can describe it, it entails "manning up" and is best exhibited by taking off shirts and walking around shirtless. It's unclear what exactly the point of it is, or the genesis of this fashion trend, other than it's a very masculine endeavor to walk around without a shirt on. The other morning, Julie noticed four little boys without their shirts on. Curious, she asked Eli what was up with it. Ever have a 4-year-old look at you like, "Duh." Well, that's just the look Julie got. Eli explained it best this way to his mother when he said, "Dat's just what boys do."