Why is it that boys' penises become the center of their universe so early on in their lives? I mean, even prior to self-awareness they're penis-aware. I remember that Keith discovered his "man parts" in the bathtub at an early age--I think it was close to four months old, even though I'm not sure because they don't have that as an entry in the baby book. (And you know how lucky the first born is in the baby book department! The others, well, who knows when they first smiled, rolled over, got teeth, and so on. They eventually did and that's all we mothers remember.) Then, as Keith neared the age of two, he noticed that my parts were different than his, Papa's, or Stanley's. I seem to recall us in the shower and the conversation going something like this: "Mama, Keith penis...Papa, penis...Nanley, penis...Mama, (pause) hair.(?)" Yup, buddy, Mama doesn't have a penis and Mama's ok with that, contrary to Mr. Freud's theory. No penis envy on this end. A few other revelations occurred in the shower, too...like when Keith saw that this neat hose of his could be aimed in whatever direction he wanted to aim it. (That was funnier for him than it was for me, since my foot was the thing he decided to pee on.) And while potty training, that he saw he could stand, like Papa, and hit the Cheerio in the toilet with his pee stream. And the time he got upset because his penis was "big" and he wanted it to go down.
So, the other day, Keith notices that Oliver, too, has a penis, and says "My penis is bigger than Oliver's, Mom." I agreed and reminded him that Oliver was a baby, for goodness sake, and that his penis would get bigger as he got bigger. "I know, but mine's bigger." Keith replied. So, I guess it looks like Mama--one woman in a house of men--is not going to change the male perspective of their you-know-whats.
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