#56

It happens. Your kids will one day be smarter than you. Thing is, you sort of expect it to happen when they graduate from Columbia or win the Nobel, but if you're really paying attention, it happens when they are 4 or so.

In a previous post I detailed Jack and Isaac's fixation with sending "messages" from on high. In this instance, "on high" was a slide at a playground in Williamsburgh, and the "messages" were leaves.

The boys have been sliding leaves down the slide to one another, announcing "here comes a message!". Great fun. For them as well as me, as this keeps them self-sufficient for 10 minutes or so while I diddle with my iPhone and drink coffee. For those 10 minutes I feel like one of those parents on TV, who can have an entire adult conversation, uninterrupted, with their two kids in the room. In reality THIS NEVER HAPPENS. One day you are young, hip, and exciting, and the next thing you know you are looking forward to going to the bathroom by yourself.

Anyway, I hear my cue.

"Daddy, this next one has YOUR name on it!"

I get the leaf-message, and decide to be inventive, clever, and cool.

"Oh, thanks, Jack! Let's see...'Dear daddy, I am sending you a message from the top of the...'"

I trail off because I can see that Jack is eying me like I'm the village idiot.

"Daddy. It doesn't say that."

(the tone in his voice is that of a devoted son, taking the old wrinkled hand of his dear, demented father)

"Oh. Sorry. What does it say?"

"It says 'John'"