Father’s Day, I am Optimus Prime

I savor Father’s Day.  I admit to appreciating the attention, the clear authority over how my day will be spent.  More so than any other day I am allowed to rule.

…Was what I was thinking when I went to sleep last night.  However, my son

Father's Day is a blast! Yuri

had other ideas at six am.  To him I am only a semi-authority figure.  As he would say “You’re not the leader of me!”

I committed some months before the terrible twos to being a playmate for my son.  I chased him with a

From fear to love. helicopter.

Fearful at first he learned to fly it for whole seconds before crashing, and grew to obsess over helicopters above all other contraptions.

Father’s Day, no matter the cost

In the few years since my influence has added Legos and Transformers to his short list of best things in life that can’t be consumed.  He made sure to draw pictures of Starscream, Megatron, and Springer in his letter to Santa so there was no confusion.  Nearly every night he asks for an addendum before sleep, a “short short story” requiring me to role play a half dozen different Transformers.  During play time, more and more often he will pick his current favorite and will require me to be Optimus Prime.

It is an honorable role, but there is a cost.

Six am I sat working.  He came and gave me a hug while saying, “Happy Father’s Day.”  Then he asked to play.

I had a plan.  I went to sleep early to maximize this day.  Well rested and an early start, I thought when I woke up at five thirty five I would have a solid morning of productivity.

This was not my son’s plan.  Or rather we had different ideas of “productive”.  This morning a battle of wills occurred in my man cave and Optimus Prime lost.

Luckily I had reinforcements inbound.  Wife rescued me with a lovely breakfast, food being a decent distraction for our son.  Now they are enjoying a nearby farmer’s market and park, and I am enjoying a measure of productivity.

Next I expect to fit in some gaming, perhaps some Warframe or Eve Online.  I don’t think I’ll play too long, just enough to savor it.  Clicking, tapping, and staring, while being well rested in the middle of the day.  It is a delicacy.

Outside my vegetable garden needs tending, weeds that need to be pulled.  But even just thinking about it I feel an echo of Yuri asking what’s a weed and what’s not.  He often doesn’t obey me, but he does listen.  I am his Optimus Prime, but not his leader.

I am enjoying my time, my respite.  But even gone only a few hours, I miss my son who is also my friend.  So this day that I’m allowed to rule, I’ll fit in some time I didn’t plan for.  Tonight maybe I won’t take a break, and do my usual story telling.  Just as long as he falls asleep before Game Of Thrones is ready.

P.S. Happy Father’s Day Tywin.

2 thoughts on “Father’s Day, I am Optimus Prime”

  1. Happy father’s day, papa! Nice to see you have a blog now. I look forward to reading more of your stuff! One, the writing is good. My favorite line, “He made sure to draw pictures of Starscream, Megatron, and Springer in his letter to Santa so there was no confusion.”

    Be proud. If he’s drawing pictures of those characters, you’ve led him down the right path. Post them if you can.

    Second, my son will be entering the terrible twos, maybe I can learn from you what not to do! Kidding.

    1. I will teach as I can.

      I did look for the letter, but couldn’t find it. We do have it tucked away somewhere. Just not in his box of art, in case he went through it. The letter had successfully been delivered to Santa Claus via the chimney after all.

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