I am generally pretty good at spatial reasoning tasks.  I can build things.  I can tell you if that piece of furniture will fit up the stairs or fit in the living room.  And I can fit a whole lot of stuff in a very small suitcase.  But I cannot tell you the best way to get from town A to town B.  Driving directions just somehow escape me.  I can get where I’m going and get back home again, but deviating from the plan leaves me feeling a bit frazzled.

The Boy does not suffer from this difficulty.  He builds a map in his head and zips about from one place to another with no difficulty and no pause to consult a map.  It’s a handy skill.  It also means that I can say things like hey, there’s a chocolate shop in Stow, do we ever go to Stow?  And he’ll file it away in the back of his mind.  Then the next time he happens to be driving by Stow, he’ll remember…and secure cupcakes.  Astonishingly adorable cupcakes.  Tasty too.  If you’ve got the mental map trick, you should totally add a chocolate shop to it and swing by next time you’re in the area.