The Joys of Fatherhood – Big Boy Edition

So it has been a rough ten days or so on the J. front. The boy has been acting up like you would not believe; to the point that I was getting concerned that perhaps I was indeed the Father of a three year old Anti-Christ. Hitting, temper tantrums, talking back, generally being a jerk to his teachers – I think I have aged three years in the past week.

So after a long discussion about what was acceptable behavior for a big boy and the consequences of any further nonsense, we sent J. off to school this week, anxious but hopeful. Monday and Tuesday were largely uneventful, thank god and as such I was thinking that maybe he was getting it and we had passed through an ugly but temporary phase. Hurray for us, hurray for him. And then yesterday, J. was an angel. He received a glowing report from school. He ate his dinner without complaint. He did not throw a fit when it time for bed. He was, in fact, awesome. Indeed, as we were reading him his bedtime stories, I didn’t think I could have been more proud of him. That was until he recited to me nearly verbatim “How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?” IN ITS ENTIRETY.

Now, I have no idea how common it is for three year olds to memorize a forty page book and, really, there is like one line of text per page but that said, I must say I was damn impressed and more than a little shocked. When he was done, he sat there giggling with this goofy grin that totally said “Holy Shit! Look what I can do!” It was just a supercool moment and one that reassured me that, hey, maybe we are getting this parenting thing and that he is growing up to be a smart, well adjusted kid. It is a moment that I will cherish for a long time. So Big Ups J., you did Daddy proud!