Meet Bob and Fred.
Now, at first glance, they might look to you like just a couple of plastic figures, trapped in their acrylic box, bobbing up and down on the surface of the mysterious blue liquid of their personal ocean. A souvenir of our visit to the Tennessee Aquarium last summer.
You'd be wrong, friends.
You haven't been here for breakfast, or bedtime snack the last few weeks. I can't remember exactly when it started, when these two became stars in little stories told by John, in fact, when they were christened Bob and Fred. But you would be amazed at their adventures. They've formed a rock band, run for president, and over and over come to terms with their lack of electricity, out there on the ocean. (They can't play Star Wars on a playstation or plug in an amp for their electric guitar.) This morning they suffered an encounter with a couple of outlaws turned horsetheives, with a side discussion on the difficulties of webbed feet, cowboy boots and stirrups.
Every day I hear the requests, "Penguin story please!!!!!" And then the snickers and the chuckles and finally the belly laughs, and the protests when the story is over. As I refill a juice glass I see Joshua and Sam, shining eyes fixed on their dad. It is one of those utterly ordinary, everyday, something from nothing family miracles.
It's February people. You know, still.
This mom has been running low lately on energy and creativity, and I am appreciating again the seamless handoffs that parenting with a shared vision allows. How much it delights me to see him doing something that never would have occurred to me, that delights them.
So today, when you ask me why I love my husband, why I value him as the Daddy of these little people, I might say. . . because of Bob and Fred.
4 comments:
aww, Missy that is lovely.
There is nothing better than sharing an overwhelming, valuable job (such as parenting) with someone who shares your vision.
Sending you some inspiration and energy... {{hugs}}
SWEET SWEET post about john!! oh to spark the imagination like that.
we've begun pretending to be animals around here... mama bear, daddy bear, big boy bear, and baby bear. last night it was a butterfly family. according to justin tonight at bedtime, tomorrow we'll be penguins. oh the thought of adding tall tales to our story as the boys grow older!
Lovely post...I hope you write down some of the stories. My husband used to make up "Stripy the Tiger" stories when the kids were little and one year for his birthday (actually it was 14 years ago!) we wrote down and illustrated several of the stories as a gift for him. The book we made is a very treasured possession and a memento of those precious days of little ones and spur of the moment make believe stories.
What a good daddy!
I just passed an award along to you over at my place. Thanks for your beautiful and peaceful posts!
Post a Comment