Article Contributed on: 12/29/2007 11:13:46 PM
My youngest son - The Binkster - is an angel. But before we go too far along that particular line, a story.
For about three weeks or so now I've witnessed Binky taking the role of older brother away from his older brother; He shouts his name , (or nick-name), and will deliver some sort of arbitrary order that only he understands. It goes something like, "D'YAN! SAYR'S, NOW!" It was cute beyond description.
But in the last week or so things have taken an interesting turn as he's suddenly included his sister in his list of Those Who Must Submit To His Will. Not only is he now barking orders to his older brother, but he's added their 6 year old sister.
And he's clarified his orders, somewhat. Instead of yelling something only he can understand, now that he's leading a platoon he's decided to be more clear about what he wants. In fact, just the other day I witnessed him leading his OLDER brother and OLDEST sister down the hall while shouting, "D'YAN! SISSER! ROOM, NOW!
I nearly laughed myself onto the floor until I came to a frightening realization: he learned that whole routine from somewhere. And then I understood the horrid truth of the situation: he learned that behavior from me...
Yes, I'm the one in the family who uses the "now" command and I expect it to be followed, (so far, so good). Worse yet, as the Father, I'm the one to whom the task of barking commands falls, so I'm OK with that in general as well.
The surprising part - frankly - is how well a two-year-old becomes familiar with the ways, mannerisms and habits of his father and how quickly he adopts them. To borrow a phrase.
Now, given this history and the introduction I feel obligated to provide some relief: When I said my child was an Angel, I meant it in the very specific, first translation sense of that word. That is, he is our messenger, (the true meaning of the word).
After all, if he can order his older siblings into a single room with a single command, why can't he direct them towards the dinner table?