Things that are good to know

A while back, over at Ask Moxie, she reviewed a book called The Dangerous Book for Boys and then started a list of what would be included in a similar book for girls. It got me thinking.

Having spent most of my life tagging along after the “big boys” and rarely hosting tea parties, I thought I’d put together a list of my own. I’m rather proud of the fact that I still have little bits of gravel embedded in my knees from some disasterous daredevil bike riding.  I can’t paint my toenails to save my life and I’ve given up on ever being able to wear a pair of panty hose more than once. I can, however, usually handle myself in just about any situation, from a 4-day hike through the wilderness to a black tie affair. I had two damn good teachers who never once told me “it’s not lady-like to…” and never thought there were things I didn’t need to know about just because I had two x chromosomes.

If you know me very well, you know I think these are things EVERYONE should know, although I started from the mindset of “what would I want my daughter/nieces to know”. I think little girls should be encouraged to go outside and be as rough and tumble as they want to be and I think little boys should be encouraged to learn some of the more domestic skills. My husband bakes better than I ever will and I’m the one who goes to the giganto home improvement store when things need to be repaired (or sometimes just for fun). I sew, he vacuums. We arm wrestle all the time. But, I think a great many of the things on this list tend to be thought of as “boy things” and some of the others are skills that get lost in a world that prefers to buy a replacement instead of fixing something.

So, without further ado…

My List of Things That are Good to Know
1. How to identify poison ivy/oak
2. How to climb a tree (and it’s corollary, how to know which trees are dead and shouldn’t be climbed. It isn’t something you want to discover 10 feet up, trust me.)
3. How to change the oil in your car
4. How to use all basic power tools AND their manual counterparts
5. How to tie a good, secure knot
6. How to change a tire
7. How to ride a bike with no hands (I don’t recommend learning this on the downhill slope of a dirt road like I did…see comment about gravel imbedded in knees…)
8. How to drive a manual transmission
9. The basic rules of a game of American football (ok, on re-reading that, of course, I noticed the distinct cultural bias, so let’s change that to “Know the basic rules of a national past time/sport”)
10. How to throw a football and/or baseball
11. How to catch a football and/or baseball
12. How to take a football and/or baseball to the face (This is a tricky one to teach. I mean, you don’t want to be chucking baseballs at your daughters’ faces, but if it should happen to occur it’s good to know that 1. the bloody nose WILL stop and 2. a bag of frozen peas conforms nicely to the contours of your face.)
13. How to read a map
14. How to back-up the word “No”
15. How to take your car to a mechanic
16. How to find your way around a hardware store
17. How to catch fireflies
18. How to order a drink that isn’t neon pink
19. When to walk away
20. When to keep trying
21. How to say, “I need help.”
22. How to sew
23. How to cook at least one good entree from scratch
24. That you should never count on someone else to send you flowers and just send them to yourself
25. That it’s ok to spend a day in your pajamas and eat nothing but popcorn
26. That it’s ok to get the man in your life to get rid of the big spider in the bedroom, but you also have to be prepared to get rid of it yourself.
27. How to travel by yourself
28. How to build a fire in:
a. a fireplace
b. a bbq
c. the great outdoors
29. This one is a little tricky to explain in one sentence. Know how to find the instructions for fixing something and then just do it. I’ve installed ceiling fans, taken apart toilets, replaced car ignition switches…all by following the instructions in a book from the library. You just have to know that you can.
30. How to balance a checkbook, calculate interest, understand percentages/fractions, and do basic algebra
31. How/when to tip
32. How to properly iron clothes WITH starch
33. How to play poker, shoot pool, bowl, and throw darts
34. How to parallel park
35. How to be alone
36. How to accept and give a compliment
37. How to accept and give an apology
38. How to cuss
40. This is another tricky one to describe…I supposed ”How to make sure you get the service you paid for” works. I’m referring to not getting taken advantage of by less-than-scrupulous people you might hire to install an appliance/tile a floor/fix your car. Know how and when to escalate.

I could probably keep going with this, but I’m going to stop here and open it up. What would you add to a list of things that are good to know? What do you want to make sure your sons and/or daughters learn from you?