I was going to talk about my day of editing hell (I even had a Yoda quote to blend into the mix), but something happened tonight that made all those issues just melt away.
Our son is learning to count. Well, sort of. At the moment it’s “free, four, nine” over and over again, but it’s still pretty cool. (I’m not sure if this makes him “gifted”, and frankly I don’t care.)
Anyway, while drying him off after his bath, we wife and I started counting down with him instead. We started at “five”, and when we got to “one” we finished with the “ba-bow” sound from Family Feud.
And he’d crack up every time. Not just a giggle, but a full-on laugh that almost left him breathless.
After a while he started saying “five” to get us started, and then he’d wait for the “ba-bow” before cracking up again.
But then he did something amazing (well, I was amazed). He started saying “five” and then immediately cracking up. Sometimes he couldn’t even finish the word before bursting into laughter. He was anticipating the moment, and it was wonderful to see.
Of course, his laughter made us laugh, which in turn made him laugh even more. By the end we were all laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our faces as we struggled to breathe.
Being a parent is toughest job out there. There are tears, tantrums and tiredness. (And that’s just the parents.) It can feel like a never-ending battle to get them to eat, drink and sleep. And when they get sick, you feel completely helpless.
But then you get a kiss without asking, a cuddle when you’re feeling down, and a laugh when you least expect it, and you can’t imagine your life any other way.
