Fatherhood

Patrick loves to be outside. When he arrived home yesterday, I was just getting finished with some weeding ... he and Jen immediately jumped in to help. We dragged branches to the pile in the back yard. Then, I found Jen and Patrick getting ready for a bike ride. Wanting to spend time with my wife and son, I opted into the ride. We didn't go far, my back and legs were a bit sore at that point ... but we did get out together as a family. The bike seat we have is not the kind I remember as I grew up. Patrick's is pretty close to my seat, in fact my heels hit the lower part of his seat if I am not paying attention. Despite this, we have a lot of fun. He loves to look around and notices things ... at one point, Jen wandered off and he started calling to her until she headed back to what he considered a safe distance. He is also a boy and likes to play. He "high-fived" my back and spent a few minutes pulling my shirt out. I hope I never forget the head-butt...

"Papap, you need to learn to share." His words coming back to him from my nephew ... As a father, I am just getting into the phase where my son needs to learn how to share. There is a big wheel bike he likes to ride, wooden blocks he loves to knock over (regardless of how many times you build something or how complex it is), oh ... and I've heard the donut you have is his, as well. When families get together, this is a constant concern for me. Patrick is just to small to understand that someone else is playing with a toy that he knows he likes from experience. Also, there is a certain level of excitement over these toys ... just because someone else is using them. Although, I have to admit that he is very good at playing with others, as long as you do not mind playing his way (as I said, blocks get knocked over ... never built up).

As a child (and as most boys), I loved playing with Hot Wheels. Patrick loves to ride his cousin's Hot Wheels trike ... a lot like the Big Wheels I used to use, except this one has buttons that make motorcycle sounds and plays music. A few weeks ago, he got to play with some of his cousin's Hot Wheels cars ... much to his cousin's consternation. I made an effort to purchase some cars for Patrick to minimize this conflict. I have made an effort to locate Mustangs ... there are more out there than I ever remember. He loves them. We push the cars back and forth across the room for hours. These same cars are stashed all through the house and I am waiting for the day when I find one underfoot. Last night, Patrick grabbed on of his cars and came over to me after about thirty minutes of rolling the car. He backed up to me and sat in my lap. Looking up into my face, he smiled and handed the car to me. I knew what he expected ... this is a relatively new game for us. I t...