Home-Grown

One of the best things about being a mama is the opportunity to watch your child's personality unfold. To my great pleasure, JT is developing an impressive sense of humor. He can be funny in the way that eight year boys are funny (fart jokes, his inexplicable fondness for America's Funniest Home Videos) but there are also glimpses of a sense of humor much like my own: droll, sarcastic, verbally adroit. On top of that, he's mastered a pretty solid delivery, complete with a good sense of timing and facial expressions that reinforce his message. It makes a Mama proud.

A story from last week will illustrate what's going on. My school is in the process of organizing a blood drive and signs seeking donors are posted all over the school. Walking to the car the other day, JT asked me, "Are you going to donate blood?"

"No," I explained, "I'm not a very good blood donor."

"Why?" JT asked.

"Well, my veins are hard to find. And when the nurse squeezes your arm to get the veins to pop up, my blood pressure decreases. So by the time the nurse finally sticks the needle in my vein, my blood pressure has sunk so low that I don't bleed very quickly. It takes me a very long time to donate a pint of blood and sometimes, I pass out. So I can't donate at school."

He looked at me, cocked an eyebrow, and asked, "Can I say something sassy?"

"Yeeees, I guess so," I responded.

And here came the witty remark: "Well, Mama, you didn't have any problem bleeding that time you cut yourself in the shower. Maybe you should try that again."

It was funny and just the sort of smart-ass remark I would make given the opportunity. I believe this could best be characterized as a home-grown sense of humor.