Tony at Sand in the Gears claim the title of “Father of the Year.”
It is the voice of a librarian, a schoolteacher, a junior senator from New York, or some other such female-type killjoy. I am physiologically and ideologically predisposed to ignore such voices. I continue my instruction.
“Sir!” “You’re whacking your baby’s head against the top of the helicopter.”
Oh. Well then. I had heard the thumping, but as a parent you grow immune to the minor noises.
Click the link to read the whole funny thing.
It reminds me of two stories when my son was young –
1. When my son was very young, perhaps 6 months or so, I was still living in Oklahoma. I brought him on a trip to show him off to Mom so she could see how much he had grown in the first 6 months of life. In Mom’s living room, I proudly lifted my son for all the world to see.
*thump*thump*thump*
My first thought was, “That can’t be Alex. Alex doesn’t make that noise.” I looked up and noticed the ceiling fan for the first time. I looked at my son and he had a horizontal red welt across his forehead of the exact same type that a ceiling fan blade would cause if a father would be so insensitive as to stick his infant’s son head into a piece of rotating machinery.
2. I used to take Alex grocery shopping when he was young, elementary school age, and I drove a car that had a rear seat that folded to allow access to the trunk. While common today, this was sort of a novelty in 1990’s. A fun game after grocery shopping was to unload Alex into the trunk before loading the rest of the groceries. Alex knew where the latch was and he’d pop up in the back seat.
One day as I was unloading my son into the trunk and closing it, an elderly woman drove up behind me and proceded to give me a scolding. “Young man, have you no sense of responsibility? That is no way to treat children!”
At about this time, my son popped up in the back seat and turned around to give me a very happy grin.
The elderly lady looked at him, scowled at me for good measure, and drove off without another word.
I assume Alex has survived my parenting. Hard to tell sometimes. 😛
Chasing the Wind 
Leave a comment