Nature Calls

It must be something in the genetics. Surely it's a very part of the DNA in every little boy's body. That insatiable, uncontrollable urge to leave his mark in the yard. I'm pleased to announce that the fairly recently potty-trained Ezra completed his rite of passage this afternoon by marking his territory in our yard. At least it was in our back yard. Several times I've seen the obligatory little boy doing his thing, pants and undies down around his knees and whizzing like a garden hose -- in the front yard. I'm sure that's a violation of Homeowner's Association codes and covenants and something that could get the toilet-challenged little lad in big trouble. Ezra at least had the common decency to whiz in the relative privacy of our back yard. While I'm bemused and even proud of this seminal moment in my little boy's life, Julie is confused. Why must all of her boys at one time or another treat the great outdoors as their bathroom?

I try to tell her that they are just doing some "weed abatement" and that it beats us spending 20 bucks on Roundup. I don't know that it's convincing her that peeing in the yard is a good thing. But at the same time, I don't think you can necessarily stop it. It's just one of those things that our little boys have to get out of their system and then we can all move on. If it's an ongoing issue, then we'll address it. But truth be told, the boys seem to grow out of it. Most of us do, that is. Not all, just most.