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During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE
Editor's Note
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Nathan, the youngest of our 6-year-old twins, sat facing me the other day. It was time for a Daddy and Me discussion. Oldest brother was swimming with the youth water polo team and we spent a couple of minutes trying to find him in the bobbing of some 65 heads. Nathan finally pointed: "There's Nick!" My son and I had scootered over to the high school from home, wind in our hair. He beamed, pleased with the events of day. We began chatting about this and that - "Daddy, I had a good day last night" - when it got down to the nitty-gritty. How was the play date at your kindergarten friend's house? "Good." Now, Nathan says "good" a bit like my late Norwegian relative would say it. Long on the double-o and heavy on the d. Did you play games? "We played 'monsters.'" What else? "We played cars." What was the best part of the day? "Good." By the way, how do you like kindergarten? "Good." Young kids are great. Their in-depth responses remind me of long-ago girlfriends, who used to exhale with these kinds of words just before they gave me the heave-ho. The long, existential conversations and discussions of how we could change the world had quickly given way to one- and two-word answers, inevitably followed by, "I'd just like to be friends." But that's another column. For the child, it can become boring, going to school, coming home, playing all day, taking a bath, going to bed, getting up the next morning, going to school. No wonder Nathan can't wait for Saturday, and pancakes, and a few moments to catch his breath. It's a jungle during the weekdays. "Are you going to work?" Nathan will ask some mornings as I'm running out the door, grabbing lunch, a briefcase and a bottle of water. "Yes," I'll pant. "Have a good day, Daddy," I'll hear him say as I stumble toward the car. It's a jungle out there. So on this day, Nathan had his change of pace, a special couple of hours that he owned. What seemed most pleasing, at the heart of it, was his newfound independence, this sense of oneness that people who are not multiple siblings take for granted. Of my twins, he was most excited about splitting kindergarten classes - he going one way, Christopher the other. And, on the first day of class, as Christopher seemed tentative, thumb in mouth, Nathan bounded into his classroom. Independence feels good, like that wind in the hair. Now he had completed his first solo play date. No more aggressive twin to steal the limelight. No older brother to get in the way. Much like Daddy and Me, it was Friend and Me. And it was good. |
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