POOHEAD

Poohead/ poo-head/ poo head. (n.) 1. A term of both insult and endearment. 2. a person whose actions are deserving of criticism but whose intimate relationship with the speaker makes the use of a harsher word inappropriate.

Johnny covered in poo.....Just kidding! It's actually just a bucket of mud that his brother dumped on top of his head.

There is a word in common usage around our house and if you spend enough time hanging around our family you are bound to hear it flung from mouth to mouth. The word is ‘poohead’ and it’s usually used in this form: “You are such a POOHEAD!”  If James eats the last cookie in the jar then he is a poohead. If I steal all the blankets in the middle of a cold night then I am a poohead. If Josie refuses to give someone a hug when they ask for one then she is a poohead. If Jamie runs naked down the hall after bath time when Mommy makes the announcement for pajamas, then he is a poohead. If Johnny turns off the Xbox while Daddy is in the middle of a game, then he is a poohead. All these actions warrant criticism and yet that criticism must be administered with delicacy and light-heartedness. Our initial response to such offenses would probably be to verbally lash out with curses and, sometimes if the circumstances are right, even profanity, but our overwhelming love for each other helps us to keep a level head. Therefore, we sling ‘poo.’ I’m not sure where the word came from or how it worked its way into our daily vocabularies, but somehow ‘poohead’ became part of the family.

We all exhibit traits of pooheadedness from time to time. Last weekend was my time, as I grouched around for three days in protest to James’ mission to clean the garage. Yesterday was one of James’ times. We were in the car driving, winding our way through narrow country roads, trying to find Sandbridge beach based on a recommendation from a good friend, and James had forgotten his sense of adventure at home. He asked with a scowl, “Where are you taking us?” We drove for 30 minutes and then it turned into 40 minutes and then 50 minutes and as our trip drug on past the hour mark, ‘poohead’ was written all over James’ face. The GPS finally announced our arrival at our destination and we pulled into a parking lot but I’d forgotten to stop at an ATM for parking money and James had to dig through my diaper bag and both our wallets for the necessary $5 in cash. The ‘poohead’ was now bubbling up inside him and I was afraid it was about to explode. I was scared that he would keep this attitude the remainder of the day.

But I was relieved when I saw that salty ocean waves do a great job of washing pooheads clean. James’ sour disposition disappeared once Josie and Jamie led him by the hand into the water.

Within minutes they were collection sea shells and trying to catch the shell of a horseshoe crab that was drifting in and out with the tide.

"Wait for me!!!"

A few crashing waves, some jellyfish sightings, and a couple mouths full of salt water later, everyone came ashore for a break. James began to dig a hole with Johnny and Jamie came over asking, “nee hel’ (need help) ?” Our entire entourage got to work shoveling and scraping sand and piling it high.

Even Johnny enjoyed digging with a little shovel in one hand and a bucket in the other and he determinedly climbed into each hole that caught his eye, maneuvering his chubby body around in the mud.

After our holes were dug, James suggested that Josie sit so that we could make her a fin. This idea earned James the ‘Poohead of the Day’ award because being a mermaid was the highlight of Josie’s day, maybe even her week although its hard to compete with the giraffes from the zoo.

Of course, Jamie didn’t want to be left out of the fun so we fashioned him a fishy tail as quickly as possible before the rushing tide came in and washed them both away.

By the day’s end we caught sight of a variety of creatures. There was the horseshoe crab that James was hunting, many jellyfish tops including one that tried to stow away in Josie’s bathing suit when we left for home, a lot of tiny clams that we watched dig themselves into the sand, two or three schools of fish, a couple of crabs, one of which pinched Josie’s toe (she said, although the claim was unverified), and a few seagulls that hovered around our picnic lunch. By far, my favorite encounter was with the extremely rare but immeasurably adorable miniature mer-people. There was also a sighting of the intimidating poohead when we first arrived but thankfully the monster disappeared and left us to enjoy the rest of the day with laughs and smiles.