Yesterday on the kitchen table was a newspaper. That in itself would be unusual given that I don’t subscribe to a newspaper, but this one was particularly different.The masthead of this paper said, “The Pirate News.” It was hand-written, photocopied, then colored by some eight-year-olds. It was fantastic. I asked my son what the story behind the newspaper was and he explained that he had started a pirate club with his friends. Obviously, Rian was the captain and his friends all became his first, second, and third mates respectively. I asked him where he got the idea and he said, “It just came to me. I like pirates so I thought I would start a pirate club.”

Beyond just being a proud dad, I love seeing what my son is interested in. He is at an age where you can visibly see him learning. You see it on his face when he makes a new connection. A look of determination relaxes into accomplishment as he uses his hands to build something. But most of all he is excited about what he is doing. He can’t wait to show me the things that he is creating. The same thing is true of Camden, our 9 month old. Everything he sees and hears is a fascinating new discovery. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that kind of excitement as an adult?

Somewhere along the way to becoming grownups we get the idea that you have to have a really good reason to create something. So when we meet someone who is spending their free time building things we ask questions like, “How do you find the time?” or “How long did that take?” We wonder how people can justify quitting their job to pursue a crazy dream. We roll our eyes at the dreamers and say, “It must be nice to have that much free time.” And the worst question is just, “Why?” Because we expect a profound answer that might push us out of our complacency. And when the answer is “because I like pirates” we are disappointed. Just loving something isn’t a good enough excuse for most people to take the risk. I think that’s why most grown-ups have lost the enthusiasm for learning that they had as children.

I am not big on resolutions, but this year I am going to worry less about justifying my creations. I will create things because I love them, and that will be enough. It might be a chess app, a camera made of Legos, or a Scotch tasting club. Will you join me in embracing this attitude? Will you join my pirate club?

Here is the latest collaboration between my son Rian and I. This time we made a stop motion movie using his Mario toys. Unlike the Star Wars stop motion movies we have made in the past this one actually has a little bit of sound. I hope you enjoy it…

Yesterday Rian snuck past me as I worked in the basement with an envelope in his hand. When he reappeared without the envelope he told me that he had a surprise for me, but I had to find it. “Daddy, you are cold. Warmer. Warmer, hot, hot, hot!” I picked up the envelope and opened it. “It’s a picture of you!” Rian said proudly. I opened the envelope and enthusiastically praised his drawing skills.

I have very fond memories of drawing when I was a kid. My parents had me drawing in a sketchbook at a young age, and they were very supportive of the artist in me. I remember dictating to my mother who would patiently write out the stories to accompany my illustrations. When I was in grade school my mom helped me organize an art club and invite my friends over for an afternoon of drawing and learning about art. We only met once or twice, but it helped me establish an identity at an early age of being an artist. My friends knew that was my “thing” and they respected it.

If you ask any successful person to point to people that influenced them when they were young, I bet most of them can quickly identify some key people. We all remember that one teacher who inspired us and encouraged us. When you think about these people you realize how life changing a few words of encouragement can be. A little praise of a kid’s math skills may send them on a lifelong journey into engineering. Praise a person’s singing and they may love music for the rest of their life.

Seeing my son’s drawings brings back great memories and makes me really proud of him. I gave him a sketchbook today and we had a fun time drawing pictures of his R2D2 toy. I hope he enjoys drawing in his sketchbook as much as I enjoyed mine. I don’t know if he will grow up to be an artist or an astronaut, but I know that being supportive of whatever he is interested has the potential to shape his future.

As I finish writing this Rian snuck past me again. He says he has something for me because “You are my best friend, and I love you.” This time he has a stack of about a dozen envelopes. I bet each one contains a drawing of me. I guess that just proves my point that a little positive reinforcement goes a long way!

We are in Arizona for a few days to celebrate my sister’s wedding. Rian pretty much summed up my plans for the vacation when he said, “Daddy, I got a good idea. After our nap we can go swimming again, okay?” I don’t miss winter in Colorado in the slightest…

Betsy and I have this theory that one of the reasons why Rian won’t sleep in his room is because he is afraid of the smoke detector. We think that he thinks it is a robot from outer space. We got the idea because at one time he told us that it hurt him. He said it gave him “owies.” We came up with the robot theory because one of Rian’s favorite movies is Chicken Little. If you are familiar with the movie then you probably remember the scene where the ships are “uncloaking” and the sky is covered with octagon-shaped ships. The smoke detector in Rian’s room just happened to be an octagon shape with a blinking light. Needless to say, we removed the smoke detector from his room. He still didn’t sleep in his room, and now he points to the hanging wires in his room and asks where it went. He probably thinks that the spaceship is “cloaked” again, or worse it is hiding somewhere in his room waiting to get him.

Today we were in the basement and he pointed to the smoke alarm and asked what it was. I decided to use this as a “parenting opportunity” and the conversation went something like this:

Rian: What’s that daddy?
Me: That is the fire alarm.
Rian: What is a fire alarm?
Me: It tells you when there is a fire.
Rian: Why?
Me: So that if there is a fire you can get away.
Rian: Why?
Me: Because you don’t want the fire to hurt you.
Thinking: uh-oh! Shouldn’t have said that…
Rian: Is it a big fire?
Thinking: Shoot, he heard me.
Me: No there isn’t a fire, just smoke.
Rian: Is it big smoke?
Me: If you hear the fire alarm beeping, you go tell mom, ok?
Rian: Why?

I wish I could have recorded the whole conversation, but I did grab the microphone in time to catch Rian’s summary. Here is an mp3: Rian explaining smoke detectors

If you don’t speak Rianese, here is the translation:
“You will hurt yourself in the big fire. And there is big smoke. Tell momma it is going to hurt you. And now, you have to put the fire out.”

Let me just say that parenting is hard. If you aren’t careful, you can turn a fear of smoke detector robots into a fear of smoke detector robots and big fires with smoke. Way to go dad! Sometimes I think I learn more by being a parent than he does…

This is the stage my 3 year old is going through right now. It is still cute for now, but I can tell that the cuteness will wear off soon enough…

Rian: Look, Daddy!

Me: Yes, an animal cracker. Remember we have to be quiet in church, ok?

Rian: Why, daddy?

Me: See all the people? They are all being quiet.

Rian: Why, daddy?

Me: Because at church you have to listen.

Rian: Why, daddy?

Me: Because the pastor has important things to tell us.

Rian: Why, daddy?

Me: Because.

Rian: Cus’ why, daddy?

Me: You think you are pretty clever don’t you?

Rian: Yes.