Elmo’s Moments

I have these moments every so often where I drive to work and realize half way there that I have been subconsciously listening to my son’s Elmo song video (I have an in car DVD player). What my mind has been doing for that 15 minutes or so I do not know. But at some level it’s been singing along like a small arm waving kid ([Yay] ‘On top of speghetti, all covered with cheese.’).

I can’t help but think that this makes me happier in some ways but in others I wonder if it makes me pine for the old days where I did not have a worry and my biggest joy was running through the soft grass in front of my parents house. Yeah. Responsibilities have a way of aging you.

I age most on those days where the toddler is especially inventive at trying new dangerous daring-do’s. He is pushing the boundaries of the world to learn about it and I am pushing those boundaries back so I don’t have to fix a broken finger or take him to the emergency room. I feel his every hurt like they are mine and that takes more energy than it probably should (I just saw him shove a full uncooked waffle into his mouth).

I do have to state that I am aging less now that I did when he was a baby. Those first eight months were a long slog through sleepless nights punctuated by hours of gas pain induced ear-piercing screams. So these times are good compared to those. At least now, I don’t have that sinking feeling in the back of my mind that we were going to die from lack of sleep (and I am convinced that it can happen, there were several times where I felt like I was heading toward some sort of light).

So times are good and the discoveries go on.