Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Peeing on Mongooses (and Other Boy Delights)

We were at a park the other day, when Aaron told me he needed to pee.

"Okay, let's go over there to the bathroom," I said, pointing to the park restroom.

My three-year-old son gave me a look that said, "Woman, you must be joking." From his vantage point, public restrooms at parks are pretty much the equivalent of medieval dungeons filled with dragon feces and prisoners' skeletons. He's very perceptive.

"I want to pee outside," he said. In dire circumstances, we let our kid pee outside. It's called "Do-Whatever-It-Takes Parenting" (book pending).

So I walked him to the nearest indiscreet location, which happened to be a huge banyan tree. There are many of these in Hawaii, and are perfect for hide-and-seek (or in this case, as a makeshift urinal). I stood at the foot of the tree behind Aaron, and pulled his pants down to his knees.

Suddenly, a brown rodent darted out from between the tree's roots, ran by us, and back into another of the crevices of the tree. I shrieked.

"What was that?" asked Aaron.

"A mongoose. Cool, huh?" I answered, hoping my matter-of-fact tone would defuse any of his fears of dirty creatures jumping out to attack him. We've been reading a book about mongooses, so he was impressed.

We resumed our business. I told Aaron to point outwards so as not to get pee on his clothes.

"You do it, mommy. I have no hands." Oh, right. On our way, he had picked up a leaf in one hand, and tiny coconut in the other. Those constitute as treasures in the eyes of a three-year-old, and he was not about to give them up.

Sigh. I grabbed his lower abdomen and pressed inward so his pee would go out and away.

"I want to pee on the mongoose!"

"No, sweetie. I think he's gone." Lucky for Mr. Mongoose.

Unlucky for me, since I was still holding my son's lower abdomen as he peed.

Thankfully, all the pee made it onto the dirt, and no mongoose attacked us.

And that, my friends, is how to explore the flora and fauna of Hawaii.

6 comments:

  1. Your little boy sounds soooo cute!
    I'm actually going to Hawaii in a couple of weeks for 5 weeks (my husband has been hired to shoot a TV show on volcanoes ;) ).
    I've never been to Hawaii (but always wanted to) and I am very excited to discover the flora and fauna... although not that way ;)
    What island are you on? We are going to the big island first (Hilo) and then O'ahu (not sure exactly where yet as the shooting schedule is not set yet)

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    1. How exciting that you and your husband get to travel to Hawaii, Alej!

      We are on Oahu right now, in the heart of Waikiki where all the action is.

      If you want any food recommendations, check out my list of favorite places to eat on Oahu :) http://larissamarks.com/2008/12/eating-my-way-through-hawaii.html

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    2. Awesome thank you! My husband tells me that we'll be in Honolulu to start with, so there you go :)
      So regarding food I have a question, what fruit and veg are local to Hawaii? I'm really hoping coconuts and avocados are on the list, but I'm really looking forward to discovering new products and also excited because our baby girl will be starting solids out there!

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    3. Yup, coconuts and avocados grow here, as well as sweet potatoes, guava, passion fruit (also called lilikoi), bananas, apple bananas (my favorite), taro, and pineapple. There are lots of farmers markets on the island, as well as random fruit stands.

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  2. haha this is just the giggle i needed today, thank you & thank you aaron :)

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