[I know. Geez. He is five... DuhSauce. But, but, but...]

He has all the gentlemanly mannerisms down. He is very tall for his age. He is well spoken. DaKid can discuss the relative merits of audio sweetening on Bill Nye or leap into a dialog about how it was more common to circumcise when his dad was young and how today we are more sensible�and why he is not chopped. This list could be endless. Shit. He even spends a ton of time playing with alliteration and explains it to others. �Butter Battle Book. That�s �literation. It seems like a rhyme sorta, but isn�t. It uses the same letters at the fronts and with the right rhythm it is sooo much fun, dad!�

These are all things that are learned. Not truly rote-regurgitation but�top level processes sitting upon his still deeply young emotional status and overall little-boy-ness.

A few poignant cases in point?

*He had been hitting up various mommies at his school to see if they would be willing to get together with his dad to make him a brother or sister.

[That took some explanation in human dynamics�I�ll tell ya!]

*Last night he was discussing how his mom would probably have all new rules for him when she got better from her strokes.

[Here we tread gently�so as not to dash HOPE, but to make it clear that recovery in-toto may never happen and that little positive changes are happening but that they are slow and small and might not add up to a wholeness.]

*Though he claims he has gotten over his fear of the dark and discusses it proudly�he still is right behind me, from room to room, PeeJays in hand when I tell him I�ll be right back with fresh cold bedtime water for him�and please just park outside the bathroom and get your pajamas on.

[This isn�t worth bringing up�as he IS for the most part far less actively afraid of the dark. Besides, there is something to be said for proximity. We humans should spend more time acting like puppies all rolled up in a ball and less time being stand offish and feeling so separate and alone. So there. Besides, there is no reason to put a damper on his enthusiasm about his newfound ability�even though it is tenuous.]

*My little sometime-wanna-be astronaut was agog about us not being smart enough to have found a way to carry enough fuel or make it STRONG enough to boost back into orbit at the slightest sign of trouble. He considers it completely silly and not-smart-dad, that we just bring �er into the pressure of the atmosphere and the gravity well of the planet like a rock skipping on the water. As he puts it, �C�mon, dad. If we can get them up there and have them doing all those �speriments� there must be a way to give them a chance to boost back up if ders a problem. Letting them fall and hope is dumb. I don�t care how much �blative stuff they have to keep the flame off.�

And you know, in each of the cases above, I wish his innocent views of the world were closer to correct and easy to accomplish.

--DaSauceOfReasonWhoDoesn�tWannaBe