Rowan’s Words of Wisdom.
Rowan likes to answer back and have the last word. He also has a dry, grown up sense of humour. The following selection of his words of wisdom all occurred when Rowan was 3 or 4 years old.
Within days of us ending argumentative conversations with the word “Tough”, Rowan began to end the conversations with, “I’ll tough you mate”!
It was the end of our holiday and Rowan had been promised a toy from the toy shop as we had a final walk around the town. He wanted to go to the toy shop first. We wanted to go to the end of town first and work our way back, making the toy shop the last stop. Rowan constantly asked if we were going to the toy shop and we agreed we were. We had taken a short cut so as not to walk past the toy shop straight away and thought that we had got away with it. However, having asked several more times if we were going to the toy shop Rowan could take no more. Leaning forwards in his buggy he leaned out and pointed behind us. With exasperation in his voice he said “Well the toy shop is THAT way”!
When told that he hadn’t eaten enough of his dinner and wasn’t to leave the table, three year old Rowan clambered down from his chair and said “Well I’m going into the living room – so goodbye”!
A day or two after Rowans fourth birthday we were at Peak Rail. We had passed an elderly man with a dog several times. He seemed to know everyone and I imagine he regularly walked his dog by the station, had a cup of tea and watched the trains go by. Just before we got on the train, Rowan’s sister wanted the toilet so Rowan and I waited on the platform. The man’s dog was outside the buffet with his lead hooked around a chair. The man came out with a cup of tea, bent to unhook the lead and spilled a little of his tea. As I was watching this a voice from beside me said loudly “Humph, he’s lost most of that hasn’t he”!
Rowan experienced a nasty sting from a nettle whilst only three years old. A year later, on a very wet morning, he looked out from the doorstep and said “Oh no, all this rain will make the nettles grow”!
We were playing on the living room floor when the tv programme that Rowan was watching finished. Rowan was between me and the remote control, but when I asked him to pass me the remote he felt that it was easier for me to get up and get it. He helpfully pointed out “you’ve got legs”!
We were having a rare lay in – just a lay in, not a sleep in – and were light-heartedly arguing about who should get up and make a cup of tea. Rowan wasn’t sure if the argument was genuine but just in case told us to “stop behaving like kids”!