Spoiler??  Hardly.  I haven't read the first Harry Potter book and to my recollection, I've only seen two of the movies, maybe three.  No, what I'm talking about here is the resurgence of Potter Mania in Casa de Zoë's Dad.  You see, my wife is a huge fan of the Potter boy.  She's read em' all and seen em' all.  I do recall one year before Zoë was born wading through the masses of freckle faced children wearing capes and wizard hats and those black round rimmed glasses in Barnes and Noble at midnight just to get her copy hot off the presses as it were.  I happened to be out of town during the release party this year and my wife seized the opportunity to once again haunt the B&N Harry Potter release party only this time she had a more enthusiastic entourage.  All five of our Z's took part in the evening's festivities and I can safely say were fans of Ms. Rowlings' work long before night's end.  So much so that we found ourselves making a last minute theme change to my boy Z's fifth birthday party celebration. 

That's right.  My boy, Z is FIVE years old!!  I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around that one.  This wonderful little boy has literally captured my very heart, and it only took him five years to do it.  OK. So that's not true.  It took him all of five seconds.  I knew this little guy was special the very moment he came screaming into the world and immediately peed on all of the operating room staff.  It took the nurse quite a few minutes to get him cleaned up and he immediately showed his appreciation to her by pooping all over her, that sticky, gooey, black tar baby poop that newborns are so adept at creating. Yes, this one is special.

Always a good natured kid, smiles and laughs throughout the day, most of the time, "Just because," he'll say.  He wears his heart on his sleeve and could not imagine hurting anyone or making anyone feel bad.  And not to sound too much the proud papa but the kid is as smart as a whip.  I've heard or read somewhere that the average kid will ask close to four hundred questions in a single day.  Don't believe me?  Take for example this little barrage of queries that took my daughter just under a minute to pose.

Z  "Um, Dad?  (Definite question.  You can't mistake the inflection.)  Can I have some milk?"
Me  "Sure."
Z  "Where's my cup?"
Me "It's right here, where you left it this morning."
Z  "What is in that?"  (Pointing to the iced tea pitcher)
Me  "That's the tea."
Z  "Can I have tea instead?"
Me  "No."
Z  "What if we are out of milk?  Can we go to the store?  Do cows eat dirt? Does that make them sick?"
Me  "We've got plenty of milk, don't worry about the cows."
z  "Um, Dad?  Can I be a Princess and a cheerleader?  Do you like me?"  (That's her form of the question, how do I look?)
Me  "Please drink your milk."

I counted twelve questions right there.  In a minute!  She could have gone on.  At that rate we were well on our way to four hundred in just under forty minutes. I don't know what it is about kids but it seems they lack the fundamental ability to speak in declarative statements.  Almost every phrase they utter is in the form of a question.  My boy is no different save the fact that the subject matter of his questions goes much deeper.  He has this uncanny ability to pose questions seemingly at random that require significant planning and deliberate forethought prior to responding.  And what is even  more impressive is his ability to recall the answers you give him.  He processes  them  and stores them much like a computer.  Days after what I may have considered a benign question and answer session I'll overhear him regurgitating facts gleaned from the discussion with amazing accuracy, reminding me to be very careful of the things I tell him.

We asked Z how he wanted to celebrate his birthday and he, without hesitation, said a pool party.  I was thrilled because it meant we could have the party at the country club (remind me sometime to tell you about the transformation from country bumpkins to country clubbers) and I wouldn't have to clean the house or prepare the food.  It was a fantastic party on a perfect night, small and intimate the way I like it.  Just a few family members and a couple of Z's friends.  Of course, our theme had been changed to Harry and there were plenty of wands, glasses and ear wax flavored jelly beans to go around.  It could not have been more special.  And I believe my wife has initiated what I hope to be a very longstanding tradition in the giving of gifts to our kids.

In an effort to move away from myriads of toys, most of which are either broken and discarded after a few uses or just discarded anyway after a few uses, she proposed a DAY OF FUN with Mommy or Daddy.  The presentation came with a framed certificate which states that the bearer is entitled to a day of fun which shall or may include any activities so deemed fun by the holder of said certificate.  Basically, we have given the kid carte blanche for whatever he feels like doing with mom or dad for an entire day.  At first, I was a little unsure as to how he was going to handle the present.  After all, there was no immediate gratification, nothing to hold and play with, nothing to try on.  Z quickly put all those fears to rest and promptly added his own twist to the DAY OF FUN.  Mom and Dad both had to go.  He refused to choose between us fearing that someone would feel left out. I told you he has a huge heart but he's not a saint--yet.  He  had no qualms what so ever about leaving his sisters and brother behind, after all this was his present.

And a day of fun it truly was.  We started with hearty doses of sugar laden treats, a trip to the candy store. (I feel a hint is warranted here.  At all costs, avoid the gummy worms!  You know that sharp pain in your jaw you get when you've had something way too tart to eat and then tried to smile or laugh?  Compound that sensation about ten times now and associate the feeling with those gummy worms.  I repeat, stay away from the gummy worms!) After the lockjaw had dissipated we moved to mini-golf and go-cart rides, lots of games, playing in the fountains, (another hint, wear some non skid shoes) a fantastic dinner and capped the evening with a movie.  OK, so the dinner was actually more for my wife and I but Z had a blast drawing sharks and pirate ships on the table and enacting the grizzly scene of an attack.  It is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel this week.  The ride home was spent listening to the soundtrack from Wicked and having a very, very deep and thought provoking discussion about love, divorce, human nature and how prejudices make people generally very bad. During part of the trip he asked how old I was now that he had turned five.  "Eight.  At least that's how old I feel today," I told him. 

Thanks, Little Buddy for making me feel like a kid again and Happy Birthday!  You are my heart and I love you.


Lagniappe:
Great Song by Ben Folds