2011.12.20 Adventures Ahoy

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Simon looked up at me, toys cars clutched in his hands, and said, "Let's run!"

And so we ran across the parking lot of his daycare over to our car. He with his torso-twisting rolling run that features his legs kicking stiffly in each stride, me with my exaggerated tiptoe trot to stay slow enough but also demonstrating sufficient effort. A couple cars had to stop, and their drivers probably scowled at me with the same disapproving looks as did the parents who diligently teach their kids to walk the long way around the parking lot.

Forget them. Forget the whole oppressive paranoid gestalt of collective nannies insisting that I never consider letting my child ever be exposed to any risk whatsoever. I don't need any help being a worried parent. But I mean to shoulder aside as much of the hyperventilation as possible, and teach Simon that sometimes it is worth taking calculated risks.

But it's really not about calculating risks - at least, not overtly. It's not even really about teaching Simon anything. I'm looking forward to playing with him. Or, more aptly, I'm looking forward to having him play with me. Running. Bike riding. Skulking through woods while imagining there are dinosaurs chasing us. Skiing. Climbing. LEGOs.

Oh, the LEGOs. In our Fredmas gift exchange with one set of grandparents, Simon and I received a Cars 2 LEGO set - for me to build and for Simon to play with. Simon is still a bit too young to grok LEGOs, and it was a test of my patience to build the set. But I could sense that he was starting to feel the LEGO Force, and made some cognitive connections as he played with the completed products. Things come apart - and can be put together. He's already started to formulate how things can be imagined to be almost anything, and how the modular nature of LEGOs enhances that. Yes, there will be much LEGOs in our future.

And maybe role-playing games too. Where he'll get to know my best friend, Dave. And vice-versa. All of which will be important goodness for me.

Life is for living, and playing is one of the best parts of living. Let's play.