Rhys and IM

Rhys, at age 3, is more coherent and a better speller than most people
who IM me.

(vicki): Rhys wants to type to you. Is that okay?
(me): Sure!
(rhys): we,haveagoodday
(me): I'm glad to hear you had a good day!
(me): I had a good day too!
(rhys): yay
(me): I love you and Mommy!
(rhys): wehadagoodday
(me): Did you see a movie about a spider?
(rhys): yes we sawaspider
(me): Did you see a pig?
(rhys): yes
(me): What other animals did you see in the movie?
(rhys): hmmmm
(rhys): goodbye
(me): Goodbye!
(me): I love you!
(me): I will see you at home in an hour or so!
(rhys): ihadfun
(me): I'm glad you did!
(rhys): i
(rhys): hadfun
(me): Fun is good!
(rhys): cat
(me): One fish two fish!
(rhys): itisfun
(me): What is fun?
(rhys): ihavegoodstuff
(me): What good stuff do you have?
(rhys): ificoverapillowitwillhappen
(me): What will happen?
(rhys): acoveverwillgetlost
(vicki): comes back, looks confused.
(me): [Bard laughs]
(vicki): Comng home soon?
(me): couple minutes
(vicki): I'll guard the pillowcases.
(me): Good!

The Coolest Thing About Being a Parent (today's opinion)

Rhys can read, and Rhys can write, and Rhys can get quite unexpected ideas into his head...

On his table there is a Poland Springs water bottle. I don't exactly know why; it's empty.

Also, it has lost its label.

To me, well, "Oh, good, it's lost its label." I generally don't approve of bottled water, though that seems to be a topic on which the country disagrees with me.

For Rhys ... Rhys does not now approve of things which are broken or damaged.

So, he made a new label for the Poland Springs bottle. It's got the words "Poland Springs" written on it, a bit surrealistically, but almost recognizably. He taped and glued the new label on the bottle, too.

Toddler minds are very creative and/or straightforward and/or unprejudiced.

Some parents say that seeing a child's sense of wonder is the best part of being a parent: seeing the child oooh and aaah about a squirrel, or a slice of bread, or a book they've read a hundred times. That is pretty cool, and it does help you remember why squirrels and bread and familiar books are so nifty really.

But for me, today, the coolest thing is getting a glimpse of the world with a lot fewer prejudices and political opinions than I've got tangling up my own head.