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Played Rad dad (with the little guy) these past few days. Had one of our best weeks yet. At nearly 18 months, he's able to get around pretty well .. with those short, stubby legs of his, and learning new words every week. His favorite word is 'side .. short for outside, which is where he wants to go the moment he wakes .. the little outdoorsman. Most surprising is to see him climb so easily (at the playground). Must have a bit of monkey in him. He motors right up the bars, and comes sailing down the slide. Makes me a little nervous. Yesterday, a boy (in his late teens or early 20's) came walking out of Mother's Market, where the little guy and I were sharing a water buffalo yogurt. (One spoon for him, one for me. Yogurt all over his face.) The boy (talking on his cell phone) passed by, then stopped, turned and stared .. before saying, "That kid is sooo cute." You could tell from his voice that he was really impressed. Now it's not unusual for the little guy to stop women dead in their tracks, but it has never happened with a boy before. When women say things like, "Sooo cute," I normally respond with a playful, "Who? Me or him?" =) ••• continued ••• Also yesterday, he made a face, saying, "Shoes, shoes," as if complaining when I put on his sneakers. Thinking they might've become too tight for his growing, fat feet, I replaced the sneaks with a pair of sandals... ... then noticed him walking with a limp, left heal raised. There I found a sliver (surrounded by redness). It became apparent I would have to do emergency surgery. A group of strangers came to my aid, supplying (nicely pointed) tweezers, a pin, bottle of peroxide, and even emotional support. The sliver was buried, but I was able to get it on the 3rd or 4th try (.. not an easy feat without my reading glasses). People with better eyes inspected the area to ensure I extracted the entire sliver. He stopped limping. The worst part about playing dad however, is having to bring him back .. knowing I can't see him 'til the next week. Never quite been able to get used to that part. Of course, I never *act* like anything is wrong (when I bring him back), but it still turns me inside out. Afterwards, I normally I walk the beach for an hour or two, to try and clear my head. Not sure I'll ever get used to that. Hope I do, eventually, cuz it suks. I always I thought it was just me (who had this problem) but I discovered in my Co-parenting class that *other* guys feel the same. Speaking of my (7-week) co-parenting class, the two main things I came away with are: 1. don't argue in front of your kids. (not as easy as it might sound) 2. making eye contact with your children sends them a powerful message .. that they are valuable & worthwhile. it's easy to do, and something i've endeavored to put into practice ever since. i'll get down on his level and (deliberately) make quality eye contact. For more along these lines, see entry for 16.May.2006: Final Co-parenting class: trust lead to emotional intimacy. |
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