My 2 1/2-year-old grandson is hilariously funny. We call him Ketch and he is always doing things that make us laugh…unless you are his mother. Most of the time she laughs, too, but sometimes I think she wants to pull out her hair.
Why? Because he doesn’t want to wear bottoms. Pants, shorts, underwear, nothing. He will wear shirts and shoes but nothing else. It’s a constant battle to make Ketch put on his underwear.
While being potty trained, he came to the conclusion that being naked and carefree was wonderful and has tried to remain that way ever since. He is built like a small chunky tank, and with his strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, dimples, and a constant grin that shows his little white teeth, he’s adorable, and looks like a cherub whose favorite word is “nope”.
My husband stopped by the other day and Ketch met him at the door with a shirt and sneakers. That’s all. When my husband asked him where his clothes were, he pointed to his shoes and walked away.
He rarely has potty accidents anymore… he’s potty trained and usually he’ll come and tell his mom when has to go. He’s really good about it, at least we thought so.
Several weeks earlier, his mom and dad had a community meeting for the people in their neighborhood. A family offered to host the meeting, and since they had a 5-year-old boy, parents who attended the meeting could bring their children to play with the hosts’ son.
So our son and our daughter-in-law hauled their three kids over to a nearby neighbor’s home. Several hours into the meeting and snacks, the hosts’ 5-year-old boy ran into the room and yelled with glee, “Ketch just peed everywhere!” Then he burst out laughing and ran out of the room.
Horrified, my daughter-in-law jumped up and ran to find the rambunctious Ketch. As she started down the hallway to the bathroom, she noticed dribbles of pee all the way down the hall leading to the bathroom. When my daughter-in-law walked into the bathroom, there was Ketch, naked as a Jay bird and sitting on the floor with the kiddy toilet seat around his neck. He grinned at his mom.
Mortified, she began picking up wet clothes; he had wet through his pants, socks, shirt, and even his shoes. Fussing at Ketch one minute and apologizing to the hostess the next, they managed to clean the bathroom, the hallway, and Ketch after the toilet seat was removed from his neck. He chattered that he had missed the potty and was wet, saying this over and over. And before my daughter-in-law could put clean clothes on him, he took off running, much to the delight of the other children who howled with laughter. Now thoroughly horrified, my daughter-in-law ran and scooped up the little monster, wrapped him in his coat, said their apologies and goodbyes and beat a path out the door and to the car.
As my precious daughter-in-law was telling me about this, I told her that I was sorry that I had told my son when he was younger that I hoped he would have a son just like he was because he did. She just looked at me and wailed, “But what about me?” I told her I didn’t know her then, but if I had, I never would have wished such a thing. I really love her.
I sat on her couch and sympathized with her as she continued to rant. It was all I could do. At that moment, Ketch was taking a nap. But soon he woke up and came into the living room. And there he was…shirt, socks, and nothing else. My daughter-in-law stared fussing, “Ketch, where is your underwear?” He pointed toward the bedroom and then ran and got in his dad’s lap. I had to laugh. This kid was just too funny.
Later that evening, my husband and I said our goodbyes and went to get in the car. There was still a little snow on the ground and as my granddaughter ran out to play in it, Ketch ran outside, too. He was wearing a shirt and cowboy boots. That’s all. I was laughing my fool head off…I couldn’t help it. He looked so funny with his bare little butt out in the front yard of a home in the suburbs. There was Ketch, unconcerned about his naked parts, just running and having a great time while my son, holding their infant, laughed at his antics, and my poor daughter-in-law stood on the porch in stocking feet and shrieked for the boy to go in the house and put some pants on. I could just imagine what the neighbors thought looking out of their windows at the spectacle.
For the first time since I had been gifted with grandchildren, I was glad I lived 45 minutes away.
