NORTH TONAWANDA —
When did our daughter become a cross between Socrates and Einstein?
I couldn’t tell you, but her advanced line of reasoning continues to amaze us more each day.
Consider this gem one recent evening while I put her to bed: “Daddy, why do we dream?”
Or this query posed to my wife while Mommy and I told Penny about our nuptials: “Mommy, does that mean you were the bride at your wedding?”
And then there was this random order issued to me when I left for work one morning: “Daddy, make sure you write a story about Rigby and me today.”
She still thinks that my job at work is to “buy new shoes for Penny,” and she’s prodding me to do ... well, this? Astonishing.
The best part is her usual response when we tell her she asked a smart question or made a smart observation: “I know.”
I often wonder what exactly is going on in her head, how much of the world she can process and what she’s able to deduce from certain situations. And while I will always give my children the credit they deserve, Penny continually surpasses my highest expectations in terms of understanding life.
This doesn’t always apply to complex issues, either. On some occasions when I go upstairs to put her back to bed, she can tell when I’m really ready to return downstairs (she will scold me to lay all the way down and put my feet on the bed). And should I forget to bring back a cup of juice from the kitchen, she will spend the next hour repeatedly reminding me that I committed the act of forgetfulness and urging me to not do it again.
But it’s the truly complex connections she makes that marvel. When asked to put her sandals on the other day, Penny asked, “Are they called sandals because you can wear them in the sand?”
Um ... sure. Why not?
I hope that Penny’s intelligence (which has already surpassed her father’s) continues to blossom. As it does, we will continue to happily field queries on life issues big and small.
Except for questions about anatomy. Those can wait a while.
•••
I can’t say enough good things about season passes.
We’re trying them for the first time this summer. We have two (to the zoo and to Martin’s Fantasy Island), and they’re fantastic. They pay for themselves by about the third visit and mean that the family will never have an afternoon with nothing to do.
With summer soon to officially begin, we’re certain to wear out our passes during days off, weekends and pretty much every time in between. Whatever your favorite attraction, I can’t strongly enough recommend that you invest in a season pass.
•••
Of course, some forms of entertainment don’t need a pass.
Rigby and I shared a recent afternoon together minus the ladies. I decided to change things up a bit and let my little dude decide what to do.
We then spent the next 30 minutes staring out the window. There wasn’t anyone or anything out there, mind you. He just enjoyed tapping the glass, seeing the sunshine and ... um ... I’m not sure what else.
But he enjoyed it. So we did it.
I think the idea of having his way (a rarity when you have two parents and an older sister always around) might have gotten to his head. Once he grew tired of window-watching, we turned on the television, but he grabbed the remote and threw it at me to prompt me to change it off of the History Channel show I put on.
I’m not sure if the first fight over the remote control (he won) is a father-son bonding moment. But it should be.
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Penny, Rigby and Paul Lane Nicole Lane for the News
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