family / from Mary / MOTHERHOOD

Fireman

{A Post from Mary}:

I live with a four year old fireman. Having raised three children through different stages of obsessions…..horses, kittens, bulldozers….I am not unfamiliar with the pattern. So far, in my experience, the interests shift and change over time. And I usually do my best to be interested in their current love. We check out library books, usually cleaning out an entire shelf on one topic while the librarian raises her eyebrows. Gifts are given at birthdays. Special trips. The usual. But my youngest, Aiden, is stuck. Stuck with a love for firemen.

I enrolled him in a nursery school. Right next to the fire station.

There was the super realistic fireman outfit given by a sister in law—worn every day, no matter how hot it got. Seeing his face reddened and sweat beading up on his brow, but him being still determined to sport his getup like a real fireman would.

Fireman boots.

Fireman movies.

Fireman apps.

Playing at the playgrounds with, you guessed it, the tall fireman poles. We are beyond the typical "Stop, Drop and Roll! " He knows all about guages, detectors, extinguishers and hoses. Rolls and rolls of toilet paper unrolled and carried through the house as his "hose".

Making him an "air tank" out of a 2 liter bottle, some ribbon, foil and leftover nebulizer tubing.

Parking at our local grocery store, always in the space next to the one where the hydrant is. Letting him have "hydrant time" while I sit in the car and peruse the store flier. Multiple trips to the station to see the trucks and talk about fire with the very nice firefighters there. Random stops along the street to get out and see particularly nice hydrants.

Receiving a real fireman mask from a friend. And hoping he will only sleep with it and not put it on in the middle of the night. Knowing which public restrooms have the sprinkler systems or other smoke detectors to see. And faking the need to use the bathroom just to go see them. And talking about it. Talking about anything fire. My mom has one story from when a heat lamp in the barn caused a near fire, but the whole fire fighting crew came out. She has told and retold that story.

Seeing him get up on the stage at our latest 4-H meeting, in front of 50 people and without any hesitation, and do his own impromptu talk on firefighters without a shred of insecurity.

So last night, when I hastily finished the dinner dishes to go stand guard as he climbed up and down a ladder,

in only his briefs,

taking his mask on and off, as practice,

I tried to remember the days before the obsession with firemen. It has almost been a year, I think. And as much as I have learned about firefighting as we both have been through this journey, I am wondering if this is just going to be his thing. He wants to be a firefighter.

And you know what?

I am good with that. He will be a good one.

 

{A Post from Mary}:

I live with a four year old fireman. Having raised three children through different stages of obsessions…..horses, kittens, bulldozers….I am not unfamiliar with the pattern. So far, in my experience, the interests shift and change over time. And I usually do my best to be interested in their current love. We check out library books, usually cleaning out an entire shelf on one topic while the librarian raises her eyebrows. Gifts are given at birthdays. Special trips. The usual. But my youngest, Aiden, is stuck. Stuck with a love for firemen.

I enrolled him in a nursery school. Right next to the fire station.

There was the super realistic fireman outfit given by a sister in law—worn every day, no matter how hot it got. Seeing his face reddened and sweat beading up on his brow, but him being still determined to sport his getup like a real fireman would.

Fireman boots.

Fireman movies.

Fireman apps.

Playing at the playgrounds with, you guessed it, the tall fireman poles. We are beyond the typical "Stop, Drop and Roll! " He knows all about guages, detectors, extinguishers and hoses. Rolls and rolls of toilet paper unrolled and carried through the house as his "hose".

Making him an "air tank" out of a 2 liter bottle, some ribbon, foil and leftover nebulizer tubing.

Parking at our local grocery store, always in the space next to the one where the hydrant is. Letting him have "hydrant time" while I sit in the car and peruse the store flier. Multiple trips to the station to see the trucks and talk about fire with the very nice firefighters there. Random stops along the street to get out and see particularly nice hydrants.

Receiving a real fireman mask from a friend. And hoping he will only sleep with it and not put it on in the middle of the night. Knowing which public restrooms have the sprinkler systems or other smoke detectors to see. And faking the need to use the bathroom just to go see them. And talking about it. Talking about anything fire. My mom has one story from when a heat lamp in the barn caused a near fire, but the whole fire fighting crew came out. She has told and retold that story.

Seeing him get up on the stage at our latest 4-H meeting, in front of 50 people and without any hesitation, and do his own impromptu talk on firefighters without a shred of insecurity.

So last night, when I hastily finished the dinner dishes to go stand guard as he climbed up and down a ladder,

in only his briefs,

taking his mask on and off, as practice,

I tried to remember the days before the obsession with firemen. It has almost been a year, I think. And as much as I have learned about firefighting as we both have been through this journey, I am wondering if this is just going to be his thing. He wants to be a firefighter.

And you know what?

I am good with that. He will be a good one.

 

14 comments on “Fireman”

  1. I love it! Nurture it, and let it flourish, it could be his calling. With my son it was building, anything and everything, he’s now 12, and it’s still going strong, I’m pretty sure I have an engineer in the making. Good luck with your little fireman, I think it’s an awesome career choice.

  2. Wonderful post! Amazing kid you have there and why not nurture something so good?

    I have two boys and my youngest was smitten with trains in the same way yours is with firefighters. Three straight years of obsession (from 2-5) that only started with Thomas and ended with an utter and complete knowledge of train yards,and hours pouring over model train catalogs (we couldn’t afford to build one for him, but he never stopped dreaming)Yes, we rode every train around, and sometimes just stopped by so he could pat the engine and say “trainnn” as if in a trance.What broke my heart was his older brother one day telling him “trains are for babies”, and from that day forth he stopped . . . stopped the hours of train dvds, model planning, book reading, toy playing. But, five years later, I still notice him staring at the train cars we constantly drive by . . . he still knows what those initials mean, and every once in awhile he mentions something about the train he sees. If it’s a true passion, I don’t think it will ever die. I hope there is no one in your boy’s life who will ever discourage him from his dream!

  3. Jennie,

    I’m so glad you left that comment. I think it’s a great reminder for us, and for us to tell our children–not to diminish a sibling’s passion–no matter if it’s a passing phase, or a life-long dream.

    xo.molly

  4. Wonderful! I love that photo of him in his full get-up breathing with the mouthpiece of his “air tank.” So precious.

    Wouldn’t it be something if he went on to fight fires for real!? You could honestly say it was his destiny!

  5. Wow, my husband I just laughed several times through this–great anecdotes, great retelling! Our daughter is only 11 months, but I’m realizing this passionate pursuit will be here in less time than we spent in college! It’s fun to encounter it through a mom who enjoys relishing their interests while they last.

    That last photo, on the ladder…epic.

    ….when I was younger my younger brother’s best friend insisted he wanted to be a fireman’s dog when he grew up.

  6. I love it! My husband wanted to be a pilot when he was a little boy. There were some detours and obstacles along the way, but guess what? He’s a pilot. 🙂

  7. So cute! Unfortunately, my daughter left her “bumble bee stage” complete with costume…but I suppose it would be cruel to let her know she couldn’t be one when she grows up! 🙂

  8. I feel like you were writing a post about my 3yo. This obsession is such a cute one. Heros are great role models. And firemen are seem to be so receptive to kids love and admiration.

  9. Waaa..is it dangerous for that kid?You’re taking a risk in your kid for just taking a picture for that?But forget about that because i love the courage of your kid. 🙂 He’s awesome!

  10. At a young age, he is a good climber and with exceptional coordination. I never had that as a kid as I had altophobia. Most ladders nowadays are equipped and engineered for climber safety.

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