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Andra Watkins

Mommy, You Hurted My Penis!

It happens. When a boy is three.

It happens. When a boy is three.

And he wants to be carried all over Storm King Art Center on a postcard Fall afternoon.

The boy is heavy. And the perch is bony. And he doesn’t always grip.

But we loved it yesterday when Cooper inched us into a pack of leaf-gazers and shouted, “Mommy! You hurted my penis!”

Cooper and I made a few memories there. We rode the tram past Calders and Lichtensteins and Goldsworthys and Serras. The glass elevator whooshed us to the sky. We lounged under a sculpture and ate pretzels and raisins, and we ran through wavy fields. And we laughed until we cackled.

Some memories for a three-year-old, huh?

But when we asked Cooper what his favorite Storm King memory was, he didn’t mention those glorious things.

“I liked going potty best.”

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Thanks to everyone who came out to my appearance at Magpie Bookshop in Catskill, NY on Saturday! To check out Kristi’s lovely bookshop, click here: Andra Watkins Tumblr

And for a Hudson Valley blast of Fall, check out our photos from Storm King Art Center here: Andra Watkins Tumblr

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37 Comments

    1. Freed you from spam. Maybe that’s how Cooper felt when he went to the potty???

    1. And that’s part of my point. Making a Memory can happen every day. It doesn’t have to be some grand thing. I don’t get to spend much time with Cooper, and I want the time I get to be full of memories.

    1. He is………..until he told me he wanted to be a butterfly for Hallowe’en.

  5. Bookshops and outspoken little boys; it doesn’t get much better. Great photos, too!

    1. Thanks. Not many gems from yesterday. Can’t believe I didn’t crush my phone this morning. I snapped a couple of shots, but I was too busy looking down the sheer rock face with my headlamp and screaming much of the time………

  7. I must confess I’ve had more negative memories when it comes to public toilets, but I’m glad Cooper had a good time!

    1. He really likes to sit in there. We had to use it with a strobe light the other night. Of course, the strobe light meant he was NEVER finished………….

  8. Nice thing about kids. They give an honest read about what is important.

  9. Hey, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. Nothing like the sweet relief of potty.

    1. The lines were crazy at Storm King yesterday. I waited until I got home.

  11. Embarrassment is a learned emotion that should be forestalled as long as possible.

    1. I agree. I tell myself that every time I get embarrassed today. 🙂

  12. I say “PENIS” at least 30 days a time…Seriously.
    If only I’d made a memory every single time 😉

    (4 MORE DAYS!!! SQUEEE!!)

  13. Our family history includes a story of my husband carrying our son down the steps at Union Sq.. It was crowded, he was rushing down the stairs. He was apparently holding on a bit too tightly….my son let him know by shouting out, “Dad! You’re squashing my testicles!”. 3 is my favorite age. And potty breaks are important. Cooper knows of what he speaks!

    1. He initiated me in classic fashion today. I took him on an Andra-and-Cooper afternoon………I must reserve the rest for a blog post…………

      I think it’s great that your son knew that word at three, and so did everyone but your husband. 🙂

  14. Oh I do know those moments. Karina could barely talk when she said something about her vagina while were in a Starbucks line. If memory serves, she was singing about it. What could I do but just smile at the other people in line. But I have wonderful memories of my early morning babysitting routine where we went to Starbucks together at least once a week and shared oatmeal together. Your day sounds wonderful and I know that a day with Cooper is a full day of joy! I would have enjoyed being in the Magpie book line with you. 🙂

    1. I’m smiling just picturing her doing that, Debra. My problem is I just burst out laughing when kids do things like that. It’s an instantaneous, unstoppable reaction. Usually, the parents are frowning and saying, “Don’t laugh. It just encourages them.” But I can’t help it………

  15. Sadly, Abigail does not remember being in Rite Aid at about 3 and yelling across the aisle, “Daddy my vagina is itchy…” One of the clerks at Rite Aid still does, however.

  17. Oh Lord but does this bring back a memory…in a store of course. Had Sterling on my hip (which at the time were fairly bony), and he yells out….”Mommy you’re pinching my penis!” Uh, okay, down you go son. :-/ However, this pales in comparison to the time I zipped his penis up in the zipper. Yes, not a pretty picture. Not a pretty memory. I think he’s forgotten about it now…and I’m definitely not going to remind him….but I sure remember. He’ll be 32 on the 29th. 🙂 A Mom rarely forgets these things….

    1. Thanks, Lori. You gave me a big laugh right before my talk today……which I needed. I’m a bit nervous about this one, though really, I think I’m just uneasy about carrying all my crap back to NYC on the train………….Your Sterling shares a birthday with one of my oldest friends. I’ll never forget his day now. 🙂

      1. I’m sure you did FABULOUS Andra. Hope your jitters went away. 🙂

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