Big Boy

Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

Little Man turned three-years old on the Fourth of July. While the rest of the country is celebrating our Independence Day, we celebrate the birth of our son. This year was his first real birthday party. Sure, we've had parties before with grandparents and such, but this time he had friends and cake and ice cream and balloons and streamers! Okay, there were more adults there than children and we ate the ice cream. Come to think of it, we ate everything and the kids ran around and played the whole time. After all, what's more fun that hamburgers and hot dogs and beer and cake and ice cream and punch and running kids?



Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

I was worried that they wouldn't have fun. I found a Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Donkey game just in case it rained and they needed an inside game. I hoped it wouldn't rain so they could play T-Ball, tennis and golf in the back yard. It rained, of course. The kids didn't care and were just as content to play with the trains and cars and blocks that were EVERYWHERE in the living room.

So, now Little Man is getting to be a Big Boy. And potty training has started. Ugh. And he's resisting, of course. But I stop and think

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about what he's learned, what all children learn, in the first few years of their lives. Amazing! In just three short years he has learned to breath, hold his head up, sit up, chew and swallow, walk, feed himself and talk. He's grown a whole set of teeth and learned where literally everything is in the house. He's learned his letters and numbers and can recognize words such as his name and anything with a logo. I believe he's teaching himself Spanish because he watches Spanish videos on my cell phone. Yes, he's learned to pull up YouTube.

Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

Then I wonder, because Dad usually asks me, what have I learned in the past three years? I've learned to change diapers, speak toddler, make macaroni & cheese, and to remain awake for days at a time. But nothing as amazing as what Little Man has accomplished. Perhaps we need to challenge ourselves to learn something new at least per week.

There's nothing ice cream can't fix. With sprinkles.

This evening my Little Man learned the meaning of the word "hot." He's two and he's babbling up a storm and has a huge vocabulary already. He knows words that he can put his finger on like puppy dog, socks, shoes, lunch box, etc. He knows how to say "hot" and that Mommy and Daddy caution him against things that are hot, he didn't understand the concept of "hot." Until 6:00 this evening.

While I'm chopping green peppers and onions I have the pan with olive oil heating on the stove. He starts talking to me and I turn around just in time to see him put his little precious finger on the side of the pan. He pulled it away quickly but there was a delayed reaction of about 5 seconds before the pain set in. Then the tears. I was amazed at his stoicism. There were tears, BIG tears and crying but not the screaming I expected. I picked him up and took him to the sink and put his finger under the running cold water. I cried with him. I told him it was hot and "no touch hot." He was saying "hot, hot, hot" over and over again.

Then he pushed away from me. His crying stopped.  He looked at his finger and pointed it up to me and said "hot boo boo." My God he's smart. Then he went to the refrigerator, pointed his finger up to the freezer and said "boo boo ice cream." Then, pointing to the sprinkles container he says "that." Genius! Already at the age of two he knows that ice cream with sprinkles cures all ailments! Is it cultural? Genetic? It doesn't matter, he's right.

I've reached the 43,000 word mark in my novel and the story line is closing in on completion. I look forward to writing every second I get to do it and I'm thinking already about revisions and editing and cover art and formatting. I know I'll be sad to see my characters go and this vignette into their lives be completed. I also know that once I say my book is done and I must put it aside, there will be ice cream with sprinkles.