“Do you want to go play in the Thomas (the train) bed?” is a question I am asked by my 3 year old son, Colin, a few times daily. And my response is almost always a resounding “Yea! Let’s go!”. Normally, it involves a game of pretend where we hide under the covers and talk about which animals may be wandering near us. For example, I’ll say, “oh my goodness…I think I hear a big bear!” and he’ll smile from ear to ear pretending that he heard the same. And I’ll say to him, do you wanna check and see if it’s close? He peeps out the covers and will make that judgment…”oh, it’s a BIG one!”. Then we’ll decide: should we hide and let him pass or “bam” him and make him go away? It’s a silly game, but he loves it so much that he’d rather do that than just about anything.
Do I love it? Not necessarily. But I tell ya what I do love is the fact that I’m bonding with my son. I love that he loves it. And I take joy in knowing that we’re building a foundation, a relationship that starts at the most simple level. Playing pretend in his room. As an adult, playing with your kids isn’t going to be the most stimulating thing for you and sometimes you’re going to be tired and you won't want to get out of your chair and stop watching Sports Center…especially when you KNOW they're about to show the highlights from the MNF game where Cam Newton broke 4 tackles in a sick 38 yard run for a TD....*ahem*…But as a man, and as a father you have the responsibility not to just discipline your children or be an authority figure (not singularly but one of two) but to show them love in the most sincere way possible. Let them see that you truly love them and you enjoy spending time with them. And to them, for now at least, that may be spending time playing in the “Thomas bed” hiding from pretend lions.
Many thanks to my darling husband, Justin, for this post. Love you, babe.
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