Daddy's Fish BowlA Clear View Of A Father's Family Experiences

Santa's Little Helper?

Hey there everyone, how have you all been doing? These past two weeks have been rough, everyone being sick and all, but for the most part things are better. I’m still not 100%, but I couldn’t stay away from blogging for too long. So did you guys miss me? Ah, why do I even ask, I know you missed me! lol.

So while Fefe & I were sick, battling colds, a new Ty emerged from the darkness and tried to nurse us back to health with kindness and generosity. It wasn’t really from the darkness, I’ve just always wanted to say that, you always hear it in movies and cartoons, but can never find an appropriate place to throw that phrase out. So anyways, Ty has been uncharacteristically good these pass few weeks, cleaning up after himself, taking naps like he’s suppose to, etc. It all seemed kinda fishy to me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. He swore up and down that he was only trying to be helpful and make things easy since we weren’t feeling well. In part, I believe him because the kid does have a big heart; I mean a BIG heart, watermelon size. But really though, how good can one kid be without incentive? Until yesterday, I was starting to buy into Ty’s genuine nature, until he slipped up and gave me a glimpse into his true motives.

While Ty and I were playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii yesterday, he asked a question that put it all in perspective for me. Out of nowhere he says: “If Santa Claus comes down the chimney, and gets into the house from the fire place, how will he get in if we have that glass in front of it?” Immediately a montage of images and scenes replayed in my head, showing all of his acts of kindness, but this time in a new light. It all made sense now, Christmas is coming up and he’s trying to ensure that he’s on the “good kid” list.

It must have started after Halloween, because that’s when the Christmas decorations come out. It’s like as soon as Halloween ends, Christmas season starts; and when Christmas season starts, the push to ensure you’re on the “good kid” list begins. I remember going to target the day right after Halloween and seeing Christmas decorations everywhere. I remember because it pissed me off, like come on, the holiday is two months away, do we really have to start now? What about Thanksgiving? Well seeing those decorations must have jumpstarted Ty’s mind because when we got home that day, he went to his room and didn’t come back. I went to check on him and the kid was sleep. Fefe and I both thought, maybe he wasn’t feeling good as he was on the tail end of his cold. But when he woke up, Ty told us that he just knew it was time for a nap so he went to take it. WHAT? What 5 year old kid does that? I was confused, but commended his initiative. Fast forward a few days and I’m getting ready to leave for work; I notice my sneakers are sitting at my bedroom door and I’m thinking, why are these here? Ty pops out his room and tells me that he knew my shoes didn’t belong downstairs so he brought them up here so Mommy wouldn’t have to. How sweet of him, Fefe was still pretty sick, so I just took it as he was trying to help out. Then a few days later, things started to get peculiar; Fefe and I had blown up the air mattress downstairs to lay out and watch a movie, we didn’t take it down before going to bed, but magically, the next morning it was deflated. Ty had deflated the mattress, folded the blankets, and made up his own bed all within the span of maybe 30 mins. It was just wrong, no 5 year old is that helpful just for the fun of it. But at that time, I had no concrete evidence to refute his claims of genuine kindness.

But now with the knowledge that I’ve gained yesterday, all the pieces fall into place and the big picture is showing bright as ever! I remember being a kid and all the threats that my mom would hand out. When I was younger it was: “I’m telling Santa not to bring you anything” as I got older it became “Christmas is gonna be cancelled”. The threats always worked too, I would snap into shape at the mere thought of not getting those gifts. Now as a parent on the other side, I can see the pure power that the holiday season has over children and it’s quite frightening. The power to make a child, who can barely keep his room clean, tackle multiple chores around the house without a single complaint, is a power that can be devastating in the wrong hands. For now Fefe & I won’t abuse it, but I see unlimited potential for the future: getting the house repainted, a new deck built, re-wiring the house, we can have them do it all (insert evil laugh). The possibilities are limitless, just uttering these four simple words “Christmas will be cancelled” will grant me free child labor for many years to come!