Having driven back from Asheville last night, today we traveled in the other direction, making the trek to Myrtle Beach to see Jaclyn’s sister’s middle school production of The Wizard of Oz. As enticing as the story tends to be for the young (and young at heart!), I thought the winged monkeys would just raise too many questions from our young son and opted to leave him behind with the only people free to watch him for a couple hours: my parents.
Miles has proven a bit challenging for them in the past, but he has thankfully grown a bit since November, becoming more comfortable with his grandparents (and, honestly, vice versa). He’s also found a shared interest with my father — birds. My dad has waited nearly 40 years for a child in his life to express literally A degree of interest in our fine feathered friends and now, at last, his vast knowledge will be put to good use.
By all accounts, the evening went splendidly for all involved (not the least of whom were me and Jaclyn). My mother reported that Miles even got some quality time in with his Uncle Ben (that didn’t involve him smacking him on the head repeatedly).
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 