Many Mistakes

Troy: “Dada, we didn’t go down the street with the giant marshmallow man.”
Me: “I’m so sorry, bud. I completely forgot. I didn’t do it on purpose. I was distracted by our singing. I’m sorry.”
Troy: “It’s ok, dada. We all make mistakes. We can go tomorrow. Don’t worry about it.”

Sweetness

Me: “Your daughter is so sweet, and she’s really taken with Troy.”
Sonja (Evelyn and Lillian’s mom): “Lilli really likes Troy. He always says ‘hi’ to her when he sees her. Troy always makes the little kids feel special, and it’s such a big deal to them. They revere the big kids, and to have one of them take the time to acknowledge them means so much to them.”
Me: “Troy really loves little kids. He’s so good with them. I love how sweet he is with them.”
Sonja: “He really is.”

Easter Egg Swarming

Today, the kids did an Easter egg hunt at the daycare. The whole affair was over in a matter of minutes. The kids descended on the playground like a locust swarm. They started on one side and moved across in a wave, methodically picking up eggs with precision and absolution.

One kid bent to pick up an egg, and he tripped, spilling all of the eggs in his basket out on the ground. He was frantically trying to scoop them into a pile before the other kids could grab them. Another little girl had a basket that was too shallow, so as she ran across the playground, all of her eggs were rolling out of the back and onto the ground. We were running along behind her, trying to grab as many eggs as we could to give back to her. But some of the kids were too fast for us, and they absconded with some of her plunder.

The sweetest part was to see some of the kids giving up their eggs to kids that didn’t get as many. Of course, that wasn’t OUR son. When we suggested that he give some of his eggs away to the less fortunate kids, he simply replied that they should have been faster. It’s funny how selfishly competitive that kids are even at a young age.

Puppyquin

Troy: “Oh, look, dada. It’s a puppy.”
Me: “Yeah, he’s wearing a sweater. Isn’t that weird.”
Troy: “Yeah, can I go pet him?”
Me: “Sure.”
Troy: “Hey! Touch him! He’s not real.”
Me: “I know. He’s a statue. Or I guess since he’s wearing a sweater, he’d be a mannequin. No, wait. He’s a dog, not a man. So, what would you call him? A doggequin?”
Troy: “I think he’s a puppyquin.”
Me: “Puppyquin it is.”

Reading Not Out Loud

Me: “What are you doing?”
Troy: “I’m reading this receipt.”
Me: “Cool, what does this say right here? Can you tell me the letters?”

…a few minutes passes…

My Wife: “I can’t hear anything. Can you please read the letters out loud, so I can hear too?”
Troy: “I already read them.”
My Wife: “That’s great, but I want you to read them out loud, so I can hear them too.”
Troy: “You don’t always read out loud when you’re reading your Kindle. So, I’m not reading out loud either.”
My Wife: “That’s true, I don’t read out loud to myself. But I always read out loud when I’m reading to you, smart aleck!”
Troy [putting on his sunglasses]: “Hang on, if I’m going to read this, then I need to put on my glasses. It’s a little small.”
Me [laughing uncontrollably]: “Just like his mother!”

Strong Birthday Quartet

Today, we attended a birthday party for Misha, Mesa, Cece, and Ralphie at Strong Fitness. Their parents were tired of attending so many birthday parties this Spring that they decided to combine all four into one. I guess one could say that it was more fiscally responsible as well, at least for them. We still had to buy four gifts all at the same time, instead of spreading them throughout the month.

Just like at Kayvan's birthday at this place last year, it offers a variety of options for the kids. But overall, I'm not very impressed by it. It just seems...ok. I did engage in a game of dodgeball along side another dad against his son and mine, but I'm embarrassed to say that we got slaughtered. I contend that the boys were cheating...there's no way they could throw that far with such pinpoint accuracy. I suspect they were doing a drive-by. Other than that, I just planted myself in an area and monitored all the kids around me, assisting anyone who needed help. It was good that the kids have seen me around the daycare and know me as "Troy's Dad." They trusted me and had no problem talking to me and asking me for help.

Overall, the party experience was a bit sad. The appetizers consisted of one bowl of chopped up celery and bell peppers and one plate of French fries and apples, which were inhaled in five minutes. The main course was pizza and hot dogs, which they ran out of after one pass. I didn't even eat anything until the kids had all eaten, because I was afraid there wouldn't be enough for everyone. The cake was too small, and each kid got one slice about a centimeter thick. No adult got any. And the only drink option was water. I was a bit disappointed by this. It seems like they could have done a better spread, especially considering they were combining the resources of four families. But I guess the kids didn't really care as much as the adults. They wolfed down their food and headed back to the play area.

Snoring Princesses

Me: “Troy, I have a very serious question to ask you. Can you be serious for a minute?”
Troy [sticking his tongue out at me]: “Sure, dada.”
Me: “So, you know that there are several fairy tales where the princess ends up in a sleep coma, right? Like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White?”
Troy: “Yeah.”
Me: “So, do you think they were snoring while they were asleep?”
Troy [giggling]: “I don’t know.”
Me: “I mean this is something we need to know. I wonder why they never mention it. Because if the prince showed up and heard them snoring, why did he kiss them and wake them up? He had to think about having to endure that for the rest of his life. I don’t care how pretty they were, I’m not sure I would have gone through with it if they were snoring. That’s a tough call.”
Troy: “You make me laugh, dada.”

Spiritual Superheroes

Troy: “Tim says that God is dead.”
Me: “Well, Tim is wrong. God is most definitely not dead.”
Troy: “Well, he’s a ghost, right?”
Me: “No, why do you think that?”
Troy: “Because in that movie He looked like a ghost.”
Me: “Well, He’s all-powerful, so He controls everything. He can move around and through things like a ghost, but He’s not a ghost. It’s like magic.”
Troy: “I’m powerful too.”
Me: “Yeah, but not as powerful as God.”
Troy: “Yeah, but I’m going to hang with God.”
Me: “That’s a good idea, you should hang with God. You know he can grant you abilities. He can make you strong, or make you fast, or let you heal people, or even make you a good singer. And He can give different abilities to different people. They’re called spiritual gifts. It’s like everyone with God is a sort of superhero.”
Troy: “That’s cool.”
Me: “I think so too.”

Whimsyshire

Me: “You want to see something cool?”
Troy: “Yeah.”
Me: “I have this magic staff that raises the Ghost of the Cow King.”
Troy: “Oh cool, can I kill him?”
Me: “No, you can only talk to him.”
Troy: “Okay, what do I do now?”
Me: “Do you see that rainbow in the canyon?”
Troy: “Yeah.”
Me: “Click that.”
Troy: “Oh cool! What is this?!”
Me: “Whimsyshire.”
Troy: “It looks like a cartoon!”
Me [laughing]: “It is.”
Troy: “But I’m not a cartoon.”
Me: “No, you’re not.”
Troy: “I’m live action!”
Me [laughing]: “I love that! Live action!”

Smack Down in the Squaragon

Troy and I had a “Smack Down in the Squaragon” today. We got on his bouncy castle and decided to wrestle. I was doing pretty well until Troy threw me out of the door. When we got done, I think I won, but I sure don’t feel like it. I hurt my neck, sprained my wrist, and I can’t feel my left knee. I also have various vinyl burns all over my body. Maybe it’s more of a moral victory?

Zombie-Opoly

On a whim yesterday, I bought this Zombie-Opoly game from Half Price Books. It’s like Monopoly, but with zombies, and I thought Troy might get a kick out of it. From the moment he saw it lying on the table, he’d been asking me to play it with him, so I set it up and showed him the rules.

He then proceeded to march around the board and buy up every zombie he landed on. I proceeded to march around the board behind him and land on every zombie he had bought! There was Goodbye Kitty the zombie cat, Cheerless the zombie cheerleader, Flo the zombie diner waitress, Zombarissta the zombie coffee maker, Zombonist the zombie trombone player, Chef Boyzombie the zombie chef, and Death Do Us Part the zombie bride. And if I didn’t land on his zombies, I landed on a Crawl card and had to pay him money anyway! I started to wish for high-numbered rolls, so I could get around the board faster and get back to RRRRRRRRR!!!, so I could collect more money. Everything went his way. He even got a Get Unburied Free card right before he got Buried! I felt like I got hustled.

Needless to say, he annihilated me. Or maybe it’s more apt to say that he “killed” me. The only good news…for him anyway…is that with this game, I’m not truly dead, and I’ll be around for him to destroy me again!

Sasha's Princess Birthday

Today, Sasha was having a princess birthday party at her house. Her parents brought in a bouncy castle for the backyard, and they had a Princess Jasmine impersonator come to do face painting and story time with the kids. They had a pretty good turn out, and I think everyone had a good time despite the decidedly lack of activities and decorations (a grand total of 9 balloons). Maybe I’m jaded because it paled in comparison to Troy’s party and decorations.

The kids weren’t so into the story time or princess games. They just wanted to jump on the bouncy castle. Unfortunately, Sasha’s mom forced Sasha to stay inside with the Princess Jasmine impersonator, even while everyone else went outside to play, because she wanted to get her money’s worth. It was kind of sad. Troy and I stayed with her to keep her company.

The party really picked up when I started chasing the kids around the bouncy castle. They would climb inside to escape me and then sneak out some other entrance to get me to run after them again. It started with a few kids, but soon all of them were playing when they saw how fun it was. If I did manage to catch them, then I’d tickle their toes, while they squirmed to get away. I enjoyed this more than hanging with the adults.

Float Like a Rock

We had another breakthrough in swim class today. Although, he didn’t really want to put his face in the water today, he did manage to float on his back all by himself! The teacher helped him get in the correct posture, and then she let him go. And he floated for several seconds all on his own. He didn’t panic or try to turn over. He just kept his head back and relaxed. It was amazing! I’m so proud of him.

Taking My Boy

After my morning outing was so lonely, I decided to take Troy back to the lake this afternoon after I picked him up. We walked along the same route I had taken in the morning, mostly because I was trying to erase the memories of loneliness with memories of “Troyliness.”

I cherished his constant questions and chatter about the people swimming in the swimming pool; the people on a paddle boat that looked like a giant swan; the fact that monsters don’t exist, so there is no sea monster in the lake anymore; all of the “princesses” in their quincinera dresses having their pictures taken; and the fresh mulch that smelled like cow poo. I willingly and gladly went up and down every set of stairways along the way. I raced him raced down the passageway of arches, where he won, of course, by a toe. I smiled as he talked to every puppy happily out enjoying the weather. I took him to see The Mustangs of Las Colinas, laughed as he tried to stick his little arm in the water to stop the waterfalls, and chased him all over the plaza. I was his accomplice to chasing every squirrel we saw, and I even jumped up to touch one hiding in a tree.

Even though it was the exact same place as this morning, it was just so much more fun and meaningful sharing all of that with Troy. He makes everything better.

Missing My Boy

I took Troy to daycare today, and I decided to stop at the Mandalay Canals on my way home. As I walked along the quiet, desolate waterway, I felt a certain loneliness. Not because I was virtually the only human being out here on a Friday morning, but because Troy wasn’t with me. Without even realizing it, this has become our place together, like so many others. It feels strange to be here without him.

I miss him skipping and dancing along the water’s edge. I miss him asking me what kind of sea monster lives in the lake. I miss him insisting on walking up and down every stairway, ramp, and parking garage along the way. I miss him chasing the ducks and petting every dog we pass. I miss him asking me to take him out on the gondola boats. I miss the incessant questions and his little voice filling the chilly air.

It’s just not the same without him. I didn’t really realize how much of my life that he had taken over. It’s impossible to envision it without him. I love him so much it makes me cry.