This kid makes me laugh

So… our youngest comes downstairs the other night at 1:30a. He informs me, “Dad, I might as well be sleeping on lava rocks!” Which, when translated, means, “Dad, I can’t sleep because it’s hot.” Being the kind loving father that I am, I tell him he can bring his sleeping bag into our room and sleep on the floor. He likes that and runs off to get his stuff. When I go upstairs to bed, I discover that my side of the bed is occupied by our youngest son.

I pondered what to do about this all-too-familiar situation… “Do I sleep in his bed?” – No way, I would have to put sheets on it. (An explanation is due at this point: Roxann had just done laundry and Noah is slow getting his bed made.) “Do I leave him there and try to sleep on the floor?” – Why would a man of my advanced years even think about that? I wouldn’t be able to walk for weeks. “Do I try to squeeze in between Roxann and Noah?” -Uh… no… that would be a recipe for no sleep accompanied by grouchiness in the morning. I ended up waking Noah.

“Noah,” I whispered, “why are you in my bed?” “Do I have to go to the floor?” he asks. “Yes, buddy. But why are you in my bed?” “Because, I just wanted to sleep up here.” As if that was the only possible explanation. This kid makes me laugh.

The Wal-Mart Encounter

So I’m walking into Wal-Mart shortly after midnight. Dozens of young men are milling around the store. I see them searching. Searching as if their lives depended on the results. There is a mixture of resignation and desperation in their eyes. No one is laughing. No one is talking. This is serious business.

The questions of some? “What if I’m wrong?” “What if I pick incorrectly?” “What if it isn’t the right thing?”

The question of others? “What if I’m right?” “What if I pick correctly?” “What if it IS the right thing?”

The result of this encounter could be life-altering.

What could drive young men to such soul-searching? Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.

Some girls like lava…

So I’m talking to Noah, my 9 year old son, about my Leadership and Diversity class I am taking. Part of the class has to do with gender and how we distinguish between boys and girls.

This is his observation: “Dad, your class is hard. Boys and girls are different. But some girls like boy stuff. They like video games and lava and blisters. But some girls like nice dresses and animals, too.”

This is from the same kid who went out and bought a punching bag because, “Boys punch things.” and who asked me, “Dad, can I do a man thing? Can I drink out of the 2 liter bottle of coke?”

He makes me laugh… a lot