Fatherhood

I sat down on the couch with Dr. Who on ... a Sunday morning, a bag of pretzels, a Dr. Pepper, and my wife and son getting breakfast. What could be better. Well, I was about to find out that sharing my pretzels with my son, having my Dr. Pepper walk off as an experiment (he had never tried it before, but our taste-buds are pretty close), and the remote stolen and the channel changed to a shopping network was infinitely more fun. On top of all this, I got to tickle Patrick, play soccer with him, and even shower together (my first shower with my son ... that was interesting). What an amazing day the Lord has made!

I was having a conversation with some friends today that began to delve into the destructive abilities of children. This got me thinking about what my son has learned in his short sixteen months about technology. Light switches, no problem ... he found the on/off switch to my computer in seconds. He can program the microwave to heat his meals. He has learned how to open a flip phone (oh, and press buttons). He has managed to call the operator a few times ... no 911 calls to this point. He has learned to access a smart phone with a touch screen ... interesting photos. He knows which one is the remote control that we use for cable and television (the three that control nothing are of no interest). Who knows what we will be watching next. He also plays games on my iPad with his Papap ... Air Hockey anyone? And, all I can say at this point it, "How quickly they learn."

It is a guy thing. There is a level of control that we take when we have the Remote Control. I am not completely sure that this applies to all men, but I know that it applies to me. When the television is on, I like to have the control ... I can certainly give that control up without any qualms, but I would rather not. Becoming a father, I am quickly learning some things about giving up control by letting go of the Remote Control. Patrick loves to play with the "clicker" ... it has buttons, lights up, and changes things on the television (not that he watches, he just likes to see it change). This has become a constant "battle" ... no, too strong a word ... maybe "struggle" would be better. I have another clicker that does nothing ... and I watch and change channels when he has it, so that he thinks he is doing something. Oh, and remember that I cannot just give it to him. He has to discover that his father was not watching close enough. Recently,...