Punk and pumpkin

I haven't followed up on the trip to the pumpkin patch. I'm in a bad mood, so this is going to be short and right to the point. Whenever I refer to my son (... my boy... my apple falling from the tree...), imagine a father with clenched fists, teeth and hair prompted to grey at the slightest hesitation.

Sucked big time. My son annoys me and he did a wonderful job of it at the patch.

When we went to leave in the morning (had to be there to meet with others at 9:30), my... boy... threw a rather large hissy fit because he wanted Mommy to take him --not Daddy. Mommy had to work, but that ws unacceptable to him... it took 20 minutes to convince him to get in the car and by that point I didn't want to go. Go we did, and eventually got there. About 20 minutes' late, of course. We paid the $6 for the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and saw there was plenty to choose from. The rules are: This is a ride for the kids, so it's up to the kid to pick a pumpkin and carry it to the tractor. My son picked up a pumpkin looking rather more like an orange than a pumpkin, so I encouraged him to pick out another one.

One we could preferrably stick a knife into without the blade immediately coming out the other side. So, he walked over and picked up a rather manageable one, but when he took a few steps he discovered that pumpkins have a natural flaw...

Please remember we're talking about a very rough boy here.

My son... (remember the gritting teeth) put the pumpkin. It turns out, to him, that pumpkins grow in a field... of dirt... and when they get wet, that dirt tends to stick to the bottom of the pumpkin waiting to rub off onto the unsuspecting palms of whomever picks up the hapless pumpkin. Upon discovering... dirt... on his hands, my son decided this was not the pumpkin for him. So, I told him we'd find another one (hoping he wouldn't pick another small one where any carving would look like some torturous massacre instead of a festive face). Nope, not going to do that. He'd had enough.

"I don't want a pumpkin." He says.

I guess I reacted a little louder than I'd expected becasue a couple parents asked if everything was okay. "Oh, he doesn't want a pumpkin," I replied. To which, most parents also winced at. Yeah, the really broke guy just $6 to take his son on a 5-foot hayride to look at pumpkins.. Why pick one up, eh?

So, eventually we made it home. No pumpkin for the family. And nothing but fond memories... if he remembers.

My daughter has a school field trip to the same patch next week. She'll probably outdo herself making up for our current lack of pumpkins. Such a sweetie.