House of Bricks

Bathtime last night. I have grown accustomed to hearing a lot of strange sounds come out of the bathroom over the past two years. At first it did not sound odd at all to hear the wife say, "And I'll Huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!" (Although as a side note here, I was brought up as a "Blow your house IN" person myself) What was strange was the noise to follow, made by the child: "A-ffffffffffpht." then a brief moment of stunned silence, followed by a peal of delighted laughter from the wife.

We hadn't taught him that. He picked it up from a Barney video.

You have to understand that up to now working with the child has been much like training a parrot. He has learned thus far by imitating us and performing his tricks on cue. Pandora's box has been opened, and we are no longer the sole sources for information for the lad. Of course this has been true for some time but now there is no more denying it. The proof is right in front of us. A-ffffffffffpht.

It is a milestone event to witness a man's first steps in understanding his world by feeding on the information around him rather than having it spoon-fed by caregivers. It's also a sobering experience to get it driven home that yes, this little lump that you are trying to mold into a man is watching everything that you watch and listening to everything that you listen to. And without a doubt he is watching everything that you do and listening to everything that you say. These things you know at some level even before your first child is born, based on the advice given to you by friends and relatives. But when the little one comes, he seems so oblivious and it's not so hard to trick yourself into thinking that it's OK to watch a cop show or a war movie while the kid drinks a bottle in your lap and dozes off before bed.

I would like to think that we have been pretty good about keeping him away from the "bad" influences of media. But self-deception is just a straw house that doesn't stand up to a good gust of scrutiny. One "A-ffffffffffpht" was all it took.