Just Me and the Boys

Wednesday nights are busy nights for my family. My daughter has singing lessons and gymnastics and it's also garbage night in our neighbourhood. Somewhere in there I'm supposed to get some school work done. Um...yeah.

But last night, while my wife took our daughter to her lessons and I was putting off my garbage responsibilities, I had a chance to just hang out with my son. He's a great kid and I really enjoy our one-on-one time. I haven't had enough of it lately and really look forward to being less busy so I can change that. Nights like last night make me realize how lucky I am to have him.

We have a new trampoline and I can't get in the door at night without his incessant pleas of "Will you come jump with me Daddy? Come jump with me Daddy? Please come jump with me? Just for two minutes? Pleeeeeeeeease???" He loves to jump with me because I bounce him high into the air and QUITE OFTEN he doesn't come crashing down on the net which surrounds the trampoline, causing minor injuries. Thankfully he's a rough and tumble kid and he bounces back and asks for more every time.

He's an extremely active little guy and there are times he drives my wife and I positively crazy. He's not a great listener and here's some advice for future parents-yelling and screaming don't make kids listen more and sometimes they laugh at your lack of composure behind your back. Please note, I never said I was perfect.

My wife has even resorted to reading books on how to parent boys. The latest is something called "The Way of Boys" and either they suggest more yelling or my wife hasn't had the proper opportunity to put new suggestions into practice. While researching this post I also found something called "Honey I Wrecked the Kids" beside her bed, so I now know that I can simply blame her for the behaviour of both children when it is to my advantage to do so.

About a month ago, my son got scared by something in his room at night. So, without warning, he decided he would take his blankets and pillow to the doorway of our daughter's room and sleep there. He says he feels more safe, but I suspect it's also an opportunity to stay up later than he should and socialize with his sister from the doorway. The socializing sounds a lot like fighting from downstairs and we just know he's abandoned the floor bed and has entered his sister's room and is tormenting her by playing with her toys without proper permission.

Unless we're prepared to carry him back to his bed 30 or 40 times a night (and we're not), no amount of effort can prevent him from sleeping in the doorway. For the time being we've given up on getting him back to his room and only hope that someday he doesn't ask to put up posters in the hallway.

This morning, he ran up the stairs while I was getting ready for school and said "Daddy, there's hockey on the TV, come!" We rushed down together and watched a few minutes of an old game that was being replayed. I noticed that he had carried his blankets and pillow down to the couch and there was a real chance that he had been up for hours. I asked him how long he had been there and he said "it was almost sunny" when he came down. Good enough for me.

He asked me if I liked hockey (he knows I do) and I asked him the same. He said he did. I said "then we both like hockey." He replied, "Just me and the boys."

I know what he meant to say. And I've been smiling about it all day.