My Cautious Boy

The Boy has been playing guitar. He saved up his allowance last year and bought a very lovely acoustic guitar. Since then, he saved up his allowance and has bought himself a nice little beginner electric guitar with amp.

Mr. A. and I are sending him to lessons with great success. He's flown through the first beginner book. He practices lots...although he could use some guided practice in my humble opinion, but this is his ballgame so I'm letting him run with it.

He really likes his teacher who was chosen due to his close geographical proximity to us. There was the small bonus factor of his being an old family friend from Mr. A's childhood.

The Boy and his guitar teacher get along famously. I hadn't fully realized how well they were matched until after this week's lesson when The Boy returned home and related his conversation to me.

The Boy asked his teacher if there was anything new and exciting going on. The teacher replied that he never does anything exciting. He prefers a more steady and scheduled existence. The Boy said he understood, but wondered what his teacher might choose to do if the opportunity presented itself.

Because isn't it always better to plan one's exciting activities?

The teacher asked for a suggestion. Bungee jumping was tabled. The Boy and his teacher then proceeded to list the reasons against doing such an exciting thing: a new rope couldn't be used as it hadn't been tested in the field yet. But just the same, a used rope could fail at any time. And what if the guy running the show measured wrong or his math wasn't reliable? But certainly one couldn't measure the rope reliably on their own; doesn't that require some kind of training? Jumping from a bridge over water presents drowning possibilities. Yet jumping off a cliff presents possibilities worse than a little water in the lungs. Even if all goes well, who's to say there won't be long term consequences to your body?

I can just imagine them both sitting there wearing guitars, their feet up on those curious little one-foot guitar playing props, nodding sagely at each other as they methodically nailed the bungee jumping coffin shut.

So The Boy, now understanding that he shares the same calculating tendencies and innate cautiousness as his teacher, makes a final comment on the subject. If ever presented with the opportunity to do an exciting thing, his teacher should peer over the side of the Hoover Dam. It's so exciting that you only need to peek for a second before your head goes all funny and you need to step back. And just like that, in only a second or two, you get all the exciting feelings you need.

It's like checking things off a list with this kid.