Simon and I in the car, chatting amiably as we drive back from buying new school shoes for Simon, when a propos of nothing he says, “You know, you’re really lucky to have such a smart dad.”
The non-sequitor throws me for a loop and I’m quiet for a minute, wondering where this is coming from and where it might be going. “Um, yes,” I say eventually. Then, “How so?”
“I like how he knows so much stuff. He tells me all sorts of facts that I didn’t know about.” I chuckle to myself. My dad does like teaching the boys things.
Simon is continuing. “Once, when I was playing video games, he was telling me about when he was a kid and there were no video games, and what the first video games were like.” I’m delighted Simon is receptive to him. Not every eight year old boy is interested in hearing about the old days, back in the 1980s. Even so, I try to interject, telling him there were no video games when *I* was a kid, either, but Simon is more interested in Papa Lou’s perspective than mine. “It’s cool being old. I can’t wait until I’m old and I know so much stuff, too, and I can tell my grandkids all about it.”
And, my darling, perceptive, sensitive Simon, I hope they show the same sweet appreciation that you do. Thanks for making me smile.
