Moooooo!!

Well, the school nurse called.  Nothing really serious this time, no scuffle in the bathroom, no chair ripped from underneath him while he sat down.  No, this time he was simply eating weeds on the playground and she thought we ought to know, in case he got sick.

The entire story is that my son’s class went to the playground at snack time and found a group of plants that bore a small resemblance to broccoli.  As a game, they thought it would be fun to play like they were eating it.  Somewhere in Griffin’s brain, two neurons fired and he decided, “Hey, it would probably be cool if I actually ate this!”  So, that’s exactly what he did.

This is somewhat of a recurring theme with my eldest.  For all his caution at physical activities, he’s completely reckless when it comes to stuffing green leafy things in his mouth.  From a young age he’s always enjoyed salads, and it was never uncommon for us to bribe him with a second serving of salad if he would just clean the rest of his plate up at dinner time. 

Fresh garden vegetables are quite literally his favorite thing to eat.  However, he doesn’t seem to confine himself to the makings of a spring mix.  A short list of things we know he’s grazed on include grass, liriope berries, honey suckle (though instead of simply eating the drop of nectar, he chewed the whole flower), and this, as of yet, unidentified schoolyard weed.  Only God knows what he’s eaten and we haven’t found out about.

It doesn’t take a far stretch of the imagination to see him getting a hold of something poisonous if he continues down this path.  It seems like every spring some incident requires that we have to have the same conversation, “Don’t eat anything out here unless daddy tells you it’s OK, and don’t even touch the mushrooms.”

“OK, Daddy.  I won’t.”

“I’m serious; some of this stuff can kill you.”

“OK, Daddy.”

In spite of what he says, I’m not really comforted by the fact that he agrees with me.  I know the dangerous chance he takes when he eats something out in the wild.  I know that the consequences of eating stuff in our backyard can range from a mild tummy ache to seizures to death.  I do my best to destroy polk salad and mushrooms every time they crop up, but they both grow fast, and are extremely dangerous.

I wish he would just listen.  I’m not trying to keep him from having fun; there are plenty of fun activities that won’t end up hurting him.  I’m not trying to keep him from eating something yummy.  We have all the good food he needs or could want.  I’m only trying to keep him safe.

As I write this, it makes me stop and think that God, himself, might have the same thoughts about me sometimes.  “I wish he would just listen…I know what dangers are ahead…I’m only trying to keep him safe.”

Maybe father and son both need to pay better attention.