Dao Likes to Tell His Own Story

In her latest post, “Kids Want to be Heard!,” Jen Karin writes:

And so, I learned valuable parenting lesson #2,362,580: kids just want to be heard. In fact, they are dying to be heard. In fact, shut up and let them talk, already!

Reading her blog reminds me of my own almost-two-year-old boy who wants to be heard. At night he would choose the same book, Hooper Humperdink…? Not Him, but he wants to read to me instead. The first time I tried to read to him, he cut me off. Dao is not yet interested in the text. He’s more into the illustrations, but with his own interpretation. For instance, when he points to the house, he would say, “Nha Bac Tram” (Aunty Tram’s house). When he points to the bridge, he would say, “cau… i” (bridge… taking a dump). You have to be Vietnamese to get that joke. He learned that from me. What they say is true. You tell the kids once, they remember forever. When he points to the airplane with people inside at the dinning table, he would say, “bay bay (airplane)… eat your food.”

I can’t hardly wait until he becomes an independent reader to find out what stories he would tell me. That day will come pretty soon. He’s turning two in just three days. I can’t believe it’s two years already. If time goes by this fast, being parent isn’t so bad at all. In another sixteen years, I could probably head back to the club and get my groove on again.