by Clay Reeves

Created on: April 30, 2008

My son, Jason (all 6 years of him), and I were finishing up a nightly ritual - his bath - and I was helping him dry off. As we were doing so, he gave me an unexpected hug and said in a soft, sweet voice: "I love you, Dad!" I hugged him back and couldn't resist the temptation when I responded: "Oh yeah, how come?" He gave me a look of 6-year-old disdain and said huffily: "Because you're 'posed to!" The devil made me ask: "Who says so?" Now he was getting frustrated with me and after a bit of thought muttered: "God!" A pause... "And Jesus!" Well, I was impressed with all of this and started to say so, when he interrupted with: "And...and...the Tooth Fairy!"

Well...Jason was really proud of himself, getting all of those answers right, so I hugged him and finished drying him off. Just as we were about to put on his Batman jammies, his mom walked in, smiling and proud of her two "men"! He squealed and jumped behind me, admonishing her with: "Mom, I'm not dressed!" Well...she quickly spun around and said, with her back to us: "I'm sorry, dear!" Jason wouldn't let it go! "Girls aren't 'posed to walk in on us men when we're dressin'!"

We were both smiling now, not only at the little guy's words but also the fierce look on his otherwise angelic face (Did I happen to mention that he had his father's magnificent looks?!?). Mom had a bit of the devil in her, too, and asked: "Oh? Who says so?" Well...Jason momentarily forgot about his lack of clothing and stepped out from behind me. With both hands on his hips, he said proudly: "The Tooth Fairy!" It was obvious that he was surprised that we didn't already know all of this, as reflected in his next comment: "Gee! Dontchou guys know 'bout the Tooth Fairy?!?" And, with that, he took his pajamas from me and stalked off to his room, muttering to himself about the ignorance of parents.

We followed Jason to his room and watched him struggle to dress himself. He was trying to put both legs into the same leg of his pj's, so his mom said: "Need any help?" Still tangled up, he mumbled: "No...I got it, Mom!" Finally, he got himself untangled and finished dressing for bed. He looked up at us, all smug and proud of himself and declared: "See?" Then, he smiled the most beautiful smile, lighting up the room, and said to his mother: "But thanks anyway..."

We were so proud of our only child, so we both gathered him up in our arms and participated in the most delicious group hug! He smelled and felt so good, and we didn't want to let him go!

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