blindfolded

Dylan,

I arrived to pick you up from school and found you blindfolded, removing and replacing cylinders of graduated circumferences and heights into matching serialized holes in a length of wood.

As you felt your way with your hands, the very sense of exploration was itself palpable.

What a great idea.


Dad

fire drill

Dylan,

Ever since your recent fire drill at school you've been rather fixated on it, bringing it up again and again for about three weeks now. You tell us about the fire drill. You tell us we're going to have a fire drill at home, or that we already have. You say it was a "pretend" fire drill, and that in a real fire we need to get out onto the grass in a hurry. And that we're going to have a fire drill in Mexico when we're there on vacation.

You've also been pointing out the "smoke protectors" around the house, eventually learning to distinguish them from the heating vents.

You've told most every visitor to the house about your fire drill, and brought it up in almost every house we've visited. You even brought it up at your birthday party, which was outdoors.

You don't seem traumatized by it, but clearly impressed and even fascinated.


Dad

dichotomies

"Cooperate, or struggle?"

"You do it, or I will do it."

"I make rules, you make decisions."

"Choose, or lose your opportunity."

For posterity.

assertive

Dylan,

In a brief phone conference several weeks ago your teacher, while giving us our first review of your time at your new school described you as, among other things, "assertive". That's accurate, and I'm glad of it.

I think you'll find many many times in your life a choice to either define yourself or be defined by what others think (Note: It can take a long time to recognize these, so don't feel bad if you only start to notice them in retrospect). Stay assertive. Be yourself, and don't be fooled into thinking you are whoever other people think you are.


Dad

twenty

Dylan,

You're three years old now. It's a milestone we've built up as a sort of coming-of-age, officially marking you as a Big Boy and bringing with it the little benefits thereof, like being allowed to eat honey, and some big things too, like graduating out of Pull-Ups (which you did as soon as your party was finished on Saturday, at least for waking hours).

You went through plenty of clothes the next couple days, including three pairs of pants by 10am yesterday. By today, however, you made it morning 'til night without an "accident" and the stickers on your "potty chart" reflect twenty successful trips to the facilities in less than 72 hours. I think you're getting the hang of this pretty quickly.

I'm proud of you.


Dad

optimism

When asked if a partially drained glass is half full or half empty, you've never failed to claim the former, and without a hint of reservation.

reading

Dylan,

Mom was playing a game with you tonight that involved practicing letter sounds. Looking at one of the cards you said: "juh, ahh, err. Jar!"

You've officially read your first word before turning even three years old!

Dad