The
first two days of our trip saw Ty in rare form. Like some curly-haired, stubby
Energizer Bunny, he just kept on going and going and going. On his first full
day, he woke up early and hit the ground running. Words that come to mind to describe what we saw – frenetic,
giddy, zany, loopy…drunk.
Not
even the cat was safe. The first time Ty saw her, he chased her as fast as his knees could take him. She went into hiding after that. On the second night, she emerged after Ty went down . She settled down a few feet away from
where I sat and glared at me. "You brought him. It's all your fault.
Pfffttt!"
Watching Ty in action was pretty amazing. He had started walking only a
few days before our trip, so we hadn't had a full taste of him as a mobile
little boy. He was non-stop! He careened around the living room and kitchen, grabbing everything - toys, cabinet doors, remote controls, chairs, books...whatever he could get his hands on. Fortunately, Ty's grandparents helped us run interference, keeping
him distracted from getting into everything or at least less of everything.
It was pretty clear that,
despite our efforts to make this trip a trip for us all, a good portion of it was going to be all about Ty. I blame him for us hanging out at the mall two days in a row. Supposedly, we went there to find a camera case and some shorts but our shopping was half-hearted at best. The children's play area became the highlight both days. It was the model of mayhem and chaos - running, jumping, rolling and screaming with no collisions, broken bones, or bloody noses. Adults could learn something from these kids.
Ty didn't know what to make of the place on the first day. We could barely convince him to even lay a hand on the rubbery-looking animals (whales I think) that jutted out of the floor. Ty seems to have this whole tactile thing - no grass, no slimy bananas, nothing too wet, and nothing that gives way to easily. By the wide-eyed look on his face, I’d say he was a little
stunned as well. He pulled it together on the second day though and climbed,
spun, and slid with the best of them.
Watching Ty, a lot went through my mind in those first two days. I thought about our
house back on the East coast – an 80-year-old house with uncarpeted floors, small rooms, and
an uninviting lawn torn up by three dogs and made unusable for kids. Do we have a kid-friendly home? Will Ty be
happy there? Will we ever get that place in shape? I wondered about my age.
I’ll soon be in my mid-40s and just starting out as a father. Am I too old to keep up with the Energizer
Bunny? I think he might have exhausted
his grandparents, but they were too loving and kind to say. I know he exhausted
me. And seeing Ty play with other kids
left me wondering about our desire to have more than one kid. It would be fun for Ty to have a playmate at
home. When are we going to start working on number 2? What if Ty goes back? If
he does, we have to start back at square one. Will I be ready for that? Questions questions questions.
Sometimes it's easier to just take a nap.
--D
