Kids are so funny. They are each so different and carry their own quirks and needs, and I love when those quirks make me laugh.

When we took off for a few days of hiking recently, I had all of the boys pack for themselves (something my oldest two have, of course, been doing for many years). I wrote down on a piece of paper what they would need to remember to bring and then each boy packed his own bag. If he forgot something that he needed or wanted, that was his problem. I’m trying to get the four younger boys to be slightly more independent in these realms and to take more responsibility for themselves.

How did the grand experiment work?

Well, after a full day of swimming at Gan Hashlosha (which you have to visit sometime, but not during a holiday because it’s sooo busy!), we arrived in the late afternoon at our cute cabin. The boys started to unpack and a certain child looked at me, then looked at the very wet underwear he had been swimming in, and then he went pale. “Mommy, this is the only pair of underwear I brought,” he said, surprised by his own words.

“WHAT!” I replied.

And then, in classic child fashion he argued, “It wasn’t on the list! You didn’t put it on the list!”

I could only shake my head. “First of all, child who shall remain nameless for this embarrassing post, I think I did put it on the list. And second of all, even if I didn’t, don’t you think you’re smart enough to deduce that you need underwear with you?”

And he replied, having ignored everything I said, “But it wasn’t on the list.”

Thus began the growing-pains portion of our vacation.

In a similar, but completely opposite example, I was reminded of this story today when another child came home quite sick. He was in the bathroom for a good half hour when I went to check on him. Nope, not ready to come out. Then I went to his backpack just to take out his lunch and see what teacher notes and other goodies I’d find at the bottom of the bag. His bag was awfully heavy. I opened the top compartment to find…two shampoos, a conditioner and a mouthwash.

When I went to ask him why in the world he would have stopped at the neighborhood grocery store on the way home from school when he was obviously feeling so sick, he declared, “Well, I needed new shampoo and mouthwash, didn’t I!”

Silly mom.

Does the hygiene of one son cancel out the hygiene of another?

Snippets of life with a bunch of silly guys here in Gush Etzion.