Random reason #32 why I love being a father.

I don't have to know how to sing or dance!

One thing has become abundantly clear to me over the last 16 years. Babies and toddlers don't care if you can sing or dance! Trust me on this one. There is no need to consult with the experts. There is no need for surveys, complicated studies, or research. I have conducted my own informal study and the results are conclusive! You do not need a Grammy winning voice to sing a baby to sleep. Hell, you don't even have to be able to carry a tune. You could warble like Rosanne Barr and still get a baby to sleep. Yeah... okay, that might be stretching it a bit but you get my point.

Trust me when I tell you I do not possess a great singing voice. Heck, I'm not even sure it's an average singing voice. My skills on the dance floor are probably even more suspect. Still there's nothing better than dancing around the living room with a babe in arms and singing them to sleep. Now, since they don't tend to scream and fuss before they drift off to dream-land I can only assume they enjoy my singing. Of course, it could also be an inborn survival mechanism that quickly kicks in when I start to sing. I really don't know and I could care even less. The bottom line is babies and small children do not really care if you can carry a tune. And for that I am grateful!

-Scott

"I'm running away!" part 2

The following exchange took place between Harper (5) and myself. I was sitting at the computer. Harper was upset about something and clearly had enough. He was standing at the front door when he made his announcement. This was not the first time he made this declaration, so i again took it with a grain of salt. Well, okay, I may have played along a little.

"I'm running away!"

Without even looking up from what I was doing, I said: "What?"

Harper repeated himself, but this time he said it slowly, in one of those I'm not joking around this time voices : "I'm running away!"

Again, I didn't even look up:"Okay"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Harper standing with one hand on the doorknob, he peered around the corner with a silly smile on his face and slowly asked: "Do you.. want me... to run away?"

I continued to act disinterested and said: "No, I do not."

At this point, Harper was really playing it up. Slowly for dramatic effect, he asked in a very pleading tone: "Why... don't you... want me to run away?"

This time, I looked at him and I said very matter of factly: "Because you are the love of my life, my world would be empty without you, and I would be sad forever!"

Harper smiled, apparently getting what he wanted, and the game ended as quickly as it started.