Independently Independent…

I have never been one for enjoying a chorus of whining, begging or nagging. So from quite a young age, Will and I made our children quite independent. Hudson often times gets his own breakfast in the morning and will even make something for Annie as well. Hudson has been solid on getting his own breakfast if he is hungry for the last 2 years or so. On Saturdays he will even make himself a sandwich for lunch. Usually if my kids want something done they do it themselves. This independence backfires on occasion and a few days ago was one of those blessed occasions.

My kids are free while I do piano lessons on Thursdays from 2-4(I'm maybe 15 feet away from them in the next room). The normal routine includes me letting the kids watch an afternoon movie with some snacks and Will comes rolling in the door as the movie finishes. Now that Hudson has gone full day, he gets dropped off in the middle of lessons on Thursdays so I don't get a chance to chat with him as he walks in the door.

Walking through the door from a pumpkin patch field trip with a round pumpkin in tow, had Hudson on a mission. Little did I know, that mission was giving that pumpkin a jack-o-lantern face. I had a gap in lessons this particular day so I went to check on them. I'm greeted with pumpkin guts and seeds strewn about as well as a pile of dirty socks on the counter. Now is the time I inform you of Hudson's OCD to slimy gooey things. He won't touch them. He solved his pumpkin gutting dilemma by taking every sock out of his drawer. He then proceeded to pull the guts out of his pumpkin with socks on his hands. He used each sock once, discarded it into the pile and then put on another. I didn't have the heart to be upset. I informed him that knives were off limits (this is NOT news to him)…even the butter variety. That's right, he managed to carve his pumpkin with a butter knife! I then proceeded to tell him, next time; he needed to find a way to contain the mess and together we scooped up the seeds and guts, relocating them to a huge metal bowl. As for the socks, I told him that was a no go. Either convince Annie that scooping guts is her job, or get a bigger spoon!