On Tuesday while we were hanging up his coat, the lad was scrutinizing the nametags above the coat hooks near his own at preschool. He asked if the name tag beside his said “Madelynne” and I told him it didn’t (it said ‘Maddie’) but the name tag next to that one did, in fact, belong to Madelynne. A look of great relief and satisfaction spread across his face, even more so when he noticed that her coat and shoes were already there. I asked him if this made him happy, and he replied “Yes. We decided a few days ago that we were in love.” Hmm. I ‘m going to keep an eye on this young lady. They better not be spending all of their class time trying to smooch each other (though I’d understand if they were-he is remarkably smoochable).
In other school-related news: they’ve started working on learning to read, and Max is doing astoundingly well. When asked for words that begin with the letter ‘A’, my tiny genius answered ‘Antarctica’. The teachers were quite impressed.Oh and did I mention that he has been happily working away with the wife and I to complete an activity book designed to prepare kids for grade 1? That’s right, the grade he will enter in 3 years. Yikes! I’ll be honest, I’m a little bit frightened by his giant brain. A brain that size needs a constant supply of stimulation and challenge, and he’s going to start outgrowing some of my old educational standbys like the children’s museum and playgroup. Lazy dad better keep researching new activities. Maybe it’s time for French class? I could benefit from it as much as he would.
Chris Loblaw, Author 