All boy

So the ditch in front of the house is full of field spiders, the big black and yellow kind that used to startle us corn detasselers out of our wits.  One golden evening Will and Leah captured 15 of them, but when it was time to go in that mean ol' Mama said they had to set them free.

So the next morning, Will's back at it, of course, and he wants that mean ol' Mama to come out and see how one goes about catching these things, and she eventually wanders out.


He's ready, open Sunbutter jar in his right hand.

"Watch me, Mama."


I am watching.


Intently.


In my mind, there's a missing component here: namely, the lid of the Sunbutter jar, with which one would swipe these rather large creatures into the container held in the other hand.

Will leans forward.


I inhale.


His left hand shoots forward - whoop! - and grabs that spider.  


He grins at the writhing mass of yellow and black, legs and more legs, there in his fingers, then shakes this rather large, creeping thing into the jar.


The spider runs in mad circles around the bottom.


I blink.


Exhale.

Will shrugs.  Grins at me.  "See.  That's how you do it."


I smile...laugh out loud.


I've said it before.
I will say it again.


This one, he's all boy.