Scene:
A children’s shop called MiniMee. I enter
carrying H, we look around for a 3.5 tog sleeping bag. A shop assistant
approaches.
Shop
Assistant: Hi, can I help you? (H smiles
at her.) Oh he looks just like you!
Me:
That’s why we’re shopping in MiniMee. (The
shop assistant looks puzzled.) I guess you don’t get many dad jokes in
here.
That was an awful one liner I came up with
today but if I’d said that joke before H was born it would have been worse.
That’s because I’m now licensed to tell dad jokes – it’s almost an expectation
that I come up with these sorts of things. Telling dad jokes is one of the
great things about being a dad but there are so many other things that make it
truly awesome.
1. Going to the park – how much fun is
going to the park? Since I was about 12 years I’ve walked past parks and wanted
to go in and play on the swings, rip down the slippery slide and climb over all
the equipment. Ok when I was a surly teenager we would sit around trying to
look cool on playground equipment but that’s not the same. For over twenty
years (alright, twenty-five!) I’ve wanted to get playing on the equipment
again. Now that I can it’s better than I imagined!
2. Toy stores – who doesn’t want to go into
the toy store? There are heaps of new toys in the toy store compared to when I
was a kid. There is so much to see, so many lights and sounds! However, most
importantly there is Lego. H is still a bit young for Lego, he does have some
Duplo that we will soon break out, but it doesn’t stop me looking at it all and
thinking, “What can I build!”
3. Star Wars – May the Fourth be with you.
A couple of Sundays ago it was International Star Wars Day. I’ve been
acknowledging the day for a few years, telling kids about it at school when I
was teaching, maybe even watching one of the movies. This year H got on one of
his Star Wars t-shirts, grabbed his Chewbacca and Darth Vader and read some
Star Wars books. I just had to join him in celebrating the day.
4. Reading Children’s Stories – why did I
ever stop? How much fun is reading books aloud? I love it when H wanders over
to me carrying a book and gabbling on. I know it’s because he wants it read to
him. Whether it’s one from my own childhood like “When the Wind Changed” or a
new one such as “The Pirate who had to Pee” if H brings it over to me I know he
will sit until it is finished. Then he’ll clap his hands and often thrust it
back at me gabbling so that I will read it again.
5. Telling dad jokes – yes they’re truly awful!
These are just some of the things that make
being a dad great. I could rave on about all these other things such as when H
picks up his rugby ball, or feeds himself with his spoon, or points at the
clock on the wall and says “clock” (not always with the “l” sound in there), or
blows kisses to the staff in shops we visit. Every little moment helps make
every day with H truly awesome and I get to do stuff I’ve been hanging out to
do for years! Being a dad is truly awesome.
