The Tinkerer

He would do this all day, every day, if I let him. What is he doing? you ask.

Tinkering with stuff. With all of the organizing and tossing I've been doing, Hyrum has begged to go through the garbage bags to see if there was anything in them he could use for his "inventions." He couldn't get to sleep the night he took apart this broken computer. Motherboard and cards and circuits and batteries (oh, he LOVED discovering the rechargeable battery pack) and keyboard--all dismantled and messed with and then piled on his bed.

Around 11 pm, I investigated why the light was still on in their room. His answer? "Dad doesn't have a screwdriver small enough to undo this screw. I'm trying every one I can find." Days later, I found the keyboard next to the Goldfish jar in the pantry, the battery pack torn apart on the couch in front of the Wii, and the circuits in a pile on the counter next to the toilet. I wonder what his little mind is thinking during all of this deconstructing.

His tearing apart is paired with making self-titled "creations."

Like this one.

Can you guess which cupboard I cleaned out that day?

I haven't caught him trying to take apart my sewing machine or investigating how the lawn mower works, but I wonder if that is in the future. Where will this fascination with deconstruction and construction take him in his life? I can't wait to find out if it's a passing fancy or a lifelong obsession.

If only I could teach him how to hit the water in the toilet bowl a little more accurately . . . That would really be something.