An Ode to My Boy

Max he was born,
one summer morn,
the weekend of Father’s Day.

A gift given forever
to constantly treasure
in every conceivable way.

Welcomed by 3,
Mia just to my knee,
she met him with “I Love You.”

That’s pretty neat
and impossibly sweet.
I swear it’s emphatically true.

Our beautiful son,
happy ham from day one,
was congested in genuine joy.

I say minus conceit,
we were right then complete,
there with our girl and our boy.

Well, he was a riot,
compared to the quiet
of his sister’s sweet sounding coos.

He demanded his place
with tears on his face,
to settle he’d simply refuse.

Months marched along,
the year sang her song,
that final verse twisted our tune.

Our boy was so splendid,
but we were extended;
our minutes all scattered and strewn.

Before we would falter
we needed to alter;
new lives to fit our new need.

So we scheduled a forum
with happy decorum,
then wrote down a plan and agreed.

We did something cool
and opened a school
for wee-ones with wonderful wit.

The first years fly by
in the blink of an eye -
a fact we couldn’t forget.

By then Max was one,
over two feet of fun,
both mired in mischief and mirth.

If we are appraising,
well life was amazing,
better each day since his birth.

Across the next couple of years,
surrounded by peers,
our puppy progressed to a dog.

We were right – it flew fast,
but we made each minute last,
unwilling to live in a fog.

A half decade later,
he’s the constant creator
of limitless minutes of joy.

Yes, we’re attached,
but he’s truly unmatched,
my clever, congenial boy.

September is soon;
an upcoming moon.
Our school day will see two in the car.

It’s a little bit fitting
to find me admitting
that I find that idea bizarre.

My days have been filled
by the bliss that we build,
and that I shall never forget.

But I know in my heart
that we’re still at the start
and the best has not happened yet.

Writer Dad

But Daddy

“Don’t wait to make your son a great man – make him a great boy.”  

~Author Unknown

So the other day, Mia and I were…  

Dad.”

“Hold on buddy, I’m telling a story.”

But I have to tell you something.”

“Okay, but hurry.  This post isn’t gonna write itself.”

“It’s my turn.

“What do you mean?  Your turn for what?”

“You talked about Mia last day.  It’s my turn.”

“No, Max.  Yesterday I wrote about language, and how we learn…”

“No Daddy, you talked about Mia’s school.  You always talk about her.  You never talk about me.”

“That’s not true, Max.”

Yes, Daddy.  It is.”

I see what you’re saying, Buddy, but I did a whole post about you right when I first started.  Remember?”

“I know how to count, Daddy.  This is just like all the pictures of Mia in iphoto.

“… Um… Well, do you want to watch a movie?”

“Daddy…

“It’s just that you’re such a good boy, Max.  And people like conflict.  Mia gives me more to talk about.  You know how Daddy keeps working on his book?  It’s because there’s not enough conflict.”

“Maybe you could work on the book instead of talking about Mia.

“You’re right, Max.  Come here and give me a hug.”

I know exactly what to say. 

My son Max is the nicest person I’ve ever met.  

Yes, I know.  Being his father should reduce my opinion to little more than an infomercial intruding from another room, but really, if you met him, I’m sure you’d agree. 

He says thank you for everything, from a donut before school (a rarity, I promise) to a shot in the arm from the doctor (I’ll tell you that story some other time). 

He admits when he’s tired, and tells me at least ten times a day that he loves me, that I’m his best friend, or both. 

He will share any toy with anyone, without so much as a thought to slow him. 

He is not yet familiar with the worst of humanity, and still believes in everything from Santa Clause to the Easter Bunny without the thinnest wrinkle of suspicion. 

He is a teacher’s dream and would make any parent proud. 

What about the conflict?

Well, thankfully, he isn’t perfect. 

If our rascal was perfect now, Daisy and I would be living in dread of the moment the rug would be yanked from under our feet; terrified that the days were numbered until our little boy was swallowed by the monster of adolescence, causing us to rescind every kind word we’d ever gushed on his behalf. 

No, Max may be impossibly nice, but he can also be quite the little rascal, with just enough pesky conduct to assure us that none of his boy parts are broken. 

His three most reassuring behaviors:

  • Max has the innate ability to lead (manipulate) just about any child (no more than two years his senior) into doing exactly what he wants at any given time.  This is a jedi like gift, but he has not always chosen to use it for good. 
  • He has the ability to migrate from riotous laughter to sullen pout in the thinnest slice of a second (a performance that works exponentially better on Daisy than it does on me, though the opposite I’m sure is true with Mia). 
  • Max has the occasional, yet unwavering conviction that he is in charge of drafting the house rules, and that everyone else must have simply missed the memo. 

But even in their totality, or packed inside a single day, Max really is the most delightful boy I could ever imagine – generous, and funny, and nice.  

Seriously, Max, if you were any less of a rascal, I’d be searching for my receipt. 

Writer Dad