Some things you just have to laugh about, and I’m so thankful to my children for being the source of so much of it.
While driving to the beach the other day, Carson started banging on the window to get our attention.
It was a person dangling what looked like a cigarette out a cracked window that for some reason got him excited. I didn’t think twice about saying he was doing it to keep the smoke out of the car..
Beckett quickly corrected me and it turns out he was right.
“No, no, that’s Vape,” he said in a matter of fact way.
After laughing over that for a mile or two, we finally got him to explain to us how in the world he knows about that. Within a few blocks, oddly enough, he pointed out the window to a sign on the back of a pickup truck along Baltimore Avenue that included the word, “Vape.”
So not only does he know what it is but he also knows how to spell it.
He then later explained that he was playing pool with an older family member at Easter and he told him about it. How that comes up in conversation I don’t know.
He also recounted last summer when he stopped to talk with a man on the beach who was pouring liquid into a smoking device. We spent about 15 minutes sitting with this older man learning the ins and outs of vaping. I had forgotten about it but my 7-year-old had not.
Later on the beach he pointed out a person who was smoking, reminding me, “now that’s a cigarette, Daddy.”
I wrote about the fact Carson is saying “mama” clearly and often a couple weeks ago. It’s now to the point we have to teach him about volume and using it appropriately.
At this point, it’s the only word our 5-year-old is saying, but he’s using it all the time. He calls me “mama” when I walk in the room, despite signing “dad.” He seems to just be proud of himself while also fooling around a little. We encourage him to say it as much as he wants whenever he wants.
Oftentimes when he calls out for his mom over and over again, despite the fact she’s nearby, I can’t help but think about the scene with Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire” when Stanley Kowalski is screaming “Hey Stella” in a desperate and begging fashion.
Carson screams his mom’s name like that as well, and it cracks me up. He does it in the house. He does it outside while jumping in the pool. He does it while walking to the car from school. He does it in the grocery store. Clearly, he’s excited about his newfound speech and we encourage it. However, that manic and all too loud tone he often uses can be offsetting if you don’t know him.
Just like Kowalski in the movie but obviously in a much different way.
Therefore, if you see me or Pam out and about and he’s screaming “mama” in an odd fashion, understand that he’s fine. He’s just finding his voice, and it’s okay to smile and laugh because we do.
Whether they have any interest or not, I like to keep my kids abreast of the local news, especially if it’s something they might be interested in.
I was telling the boys about the new Flow Rider surf machine that will be coming to downtown Ocean City this summer. Beckett was asking where it was going to be located and I told him next to the Route 50 Bridge. The location seemed to trouble him.
It took me a while to finally get to the root of the problem. It dated back to a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Va. a couple years ago when an unfortunate mishap occurred that embarrassed him but caused me tremendous viewing pleasure. It was a moment I will never forget.
“So when it takes my bathing suit off again people on the Route 50 Bridge are going to see all that have like last time,” he said.
With school letting out soon, Beckett has been asking lots of questions about what he’s going to be doing this summer.
He knows summer is crazy for his parents at work and he wants to make sure we don’t forget about making sure he has fun.
For the last month or so, we have been telling him to have faith we will make sure he has a great summer with camps and all sorts of things when we have to work.
On the way to school this week, I ran through his summer schedule and what camps he would attend, where we would be going, who would be visiting and all of the details.
After a lot of me talking, he was pretty quiet, seemingly tracking everything I said in great detail. I figured he was contemplating if he had any objections.
“Well that settles that,” he simply said, giving me the vote of confidence.