Wok Daddy, Wok

Georgie has run a high fever for the past two days now, off and on. Tonight, his mommy left for on a business trip for the next few days, so it’s just the boys at home. This boy has a way with getting me to do whatever he wants.

We went to a local department store where he wanted EVERYTHING we passed by. That is not typical of him, but since he has not felt well….well daddy lets him put it in the cart. As he grabs an item, some of the others mysteriously disappear and end up back on the shelf; of course in a location they do not belong. Before we head to the checkout, the boy and I have to have a conversation about all the random items in the cart, (aluminum foil, lotion, a water float, cereal bars, and (3) four-car sets of Hot Wheels). I managed to talk him into putting everything back with the exception of one set of Hot Wheels. He sits politely in the cart as we make it to the checkout and even hands the cashier his cars for her to scan and was willing to wait until we got in the car for them to be opened. His personality amazes me.

But, the part that gets me the most was bedtime. We have a routine each night where we ask him, “Georgie, would you like to brush your teeth and go to bed now, or in five minutes?” (Gotta love Love & Logic!) He used to just say, “Yes”, responding to the last words mentioned. Now, he’ll say, “Five min”. We always ask the question with plenty of time for him to have an extra five minutes or even 20, (it just depends on how much fun we’re having). At the end of five minutes we tell him that it’s time to go brush teeth and to go to bed. He says, “Five min!” We tell him no and remind him that he made the choice earlier for five more minutes and that time is up. His response…”Okay”. And, we proceed through the routine of brushing teeth, getting pajamas on, reading a book, exchanging hugs and kisses and doing the rocket ship, (he squats down in front of me, counts down 3, 2, 1 and I shoot him up into the air, spin him around like a rocket ship and he lands in his bed. I cover him up, tell him I love him, (which he responds with his, “I love you too dad” although the words are hard to make out…I KNOW WHAT HE IS SAYING! ) we say night, night, the light goes off and the door closes.

Tonight the routine was no different with the exception of taking a bath first. However, after being in bed for about five minutes I hear what is believed to be the whimpering of a puppy looking for his mommy, (or daddy in this case). I go into his room and he says, “Wok daddy, wok”, (rock daddy, rock). I quietly ask myself, “Self? Is he REALLY asking you to rock him?” Now, to put things into perspective, he has not allowed me to rock him for I would say 9 months…and when he does want to be rocked, he reserves that privilege for his mommy. I must say my heart melted a little. Of course I picked him up and began to rock him…how could I not? As I began to rock him, I ask if it would be okay for me to sing a song to him….and guess what? HE SAID YES! Now, to put this into perspective as well, for the past 9 months when we would try to sing him a song, he would put his index finger over one nostril, push it closed and go, “SHHHH!” Not sure where he learned that from…but that’s what we got.

I sang him the entire song I wrote for him when he was just a few months old, one I sang to him every night for the first year and more of his life. The song is called, Oh My Bubbas (to the tune of Oh My Darling). I won’t share the words as I don’t want it to jinks me. I’m hoping I have another opportunity to sing it to him before he brings his first girlfriend home to meet his parents! 

He lay in my arms, where he ended up falling asleep, which he has not done for a VERY long time. This experience allowed me to reflect on how he has changed so much in a short amount of time. It reminded me of the important role I play in his life as his daddy. Of course he needs his mommy, we all do. But, I know he needs his daddy.