Feels like the end of the magic. The Bug begins school in a few weeks. Kindergarten. I can feel it hovering nearby, like a heavy cloud over the horizon .. headed this way.
Months ago the idea of kindergarten was freaking me out. Now it's bumming me out. Feels like the end of the magic is nigh.
For years people have been telling me, They're only small for a short time. Enjoy it while it lasts.
I always thought that an obvious remark. (Duh.) But now I can see » they weren't talking about size. Rather, they meant » the magic. A child's enchantment.
The coolest part of being a parent .. is that for a few 'short' years .. you get to be part of their enchanted little world. Part of being a parent involves cultivating this enchantment. (I endeavor to share a little of that magic here.)
These last few weeks, the Bug has been the happiest I've seen. I mean, he has always been a happy kid. But these last few weeks with him have been .. one nectar day after another .. from the moment he wakes. Everything in my world feels 'sparkly' when he's laughing.
I have a video of him .. imprinted into the database of my mind .. walking across the length of the coffee shop .. on his way to get a cookie (snickerdoodle) .. swinging his arms like a sailor in port. Radiating happiness. Of course, he came back with two. Grinning cuz he got the second for free.
» Ice Cream Trucks
Yesterday we rode our bikes to In-n-Out .. to split a burger & fries.
On the way there, the Bug spotted an ice cream truck .. in heavy traffic, heading the opposite direction .. just like the one that patrols our neighborhood. (He * loves* ice cream trucks.)
Ice cream trucks are better than In-n-Out,
he says.
Ya know,
I said, I couldn't hear very well back there cuz traffic was pretty loud .. BUT .. it sounded to me like you said .. ice cream trucks are better than In-n-Out.
Yeah,
he says.
Now wait a cotton-picking minute,
I said .. repeating the whole thing about how I couldn't hear very well. The idea is that I can't believe anybody would prefer an ice cream truck over In-n-Out. But he was finding it humourous, so I continued my schtick .. all the way to In-n-Out, while he defended his position.
Few minutes after we placed our order, an orange van-like truck pulls into the parking lot. Hey, look,
I said, A surfboard truck.
Cuz a picture of a surfboard is painted on the side.
But on closer inspection, I can see the words 'ICE CREAM' printed below the surf board.
It's actually an ice-cream truck, for Longboards Ice Cream .. of Huntington Beach (.. which lies up the road a few miles .. known as Surf City USA, where the U.S. Open was held earlier this month .. won by Brett Simpson, an HB native, for the second year in a row).
One guy stayed in the truck (to guard the cold gold) while the other headed for the walk-up window.
Hey,
the Bug calls out to the guy approaching, Is that an ice cream truck?
••• today's entry continues here below •••
Yeah,
the Longboard guy says, Ya want one?
Can I, dad?
he asked .. with big eyes.
Sure,
I said. It seemed such a coincidence .. especially after I made such a big deal about In-n-Out being superior to ice cream trucks .. all the way there. I mean, I've never seen an ice cream truck at In-n-Out before. And I've been there dozens of times. Maybe even hundreds.
Anyway, the guy opened his truck and got the Bug an ice cream of his choosing (chocolate). Free. Super-yummy, too. I sampled a bite (or two). Real creamy, but not too sweet. Tasted like the good stuff.
That's my favorite, too,
the Longboard guy said, adding how they make their own ice cream. Home made. Needless to say, the Bug didn't eat much of his burger. Must admit, the ice cream truck really WAS better than In-n-Out. =)
»» Love Brings the Magic
These kinds of magical little incidents don't happen every day .. but far more frequently than I would've imagined.
Makes me feel fortunate & grateful to be a part of his enchanted little world. But it feels like it's coming to an end.
I suspect, and have for some time, that love brings the magic. Real love brings real magic. (Or maybe it just seems that way.)
That it can't be 'manufactured,' so to speak .. as the artificial process introduces a variety of contaminants. Rather it must be channeled .. from its pure source .. deep within.
So we become a pipe. 'Cleaning the pipes' and keeping them clean becomes the job of the lover. Not an easy job, sometimes. Life has a way of clogging our pipes. With stuff.
There's a line in the movie » Into the Wild:
When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you.
God's light .. that's another way of saying » the magic. So maybe it's not the end of the magic .. just the end of the enchanted years.
Sometimes I wonder » if the Bug wasn't so cool, would I love him as much? Certainly I'd like to think so. But there's no way to know for sure. He is easy to love. Very easy. With the coolest voice.
An elderly man rose from his table and approached me as I gathered our things to leave .. at the restaurant where the Bug & I sometimes get brecky. Guy said »
The wife & I were talking. If he grows into that voice, he's gonna be one big boy.=)
Being a parent, I've learned, also teaches you a lot about yourself. In a variety of ways .. some of them rather ruthlessly.
[ You shoulda seen the Bug at the library this week .. giving a clinic to 5 or 6 kids, all huddled around his computer screen, showing them how to play Fancy Pants. Cracked me up. Every once in a while, a cute little girl would bat her eyes and say, Could you help me?
]
