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Father and Son
This is probably not a parenting mistake. It’s more likely just a human mistake, where I failed to listen and so, an opportunity was missed. My son lives in California with his mother. She is Thai, and they are planning a trip to Thailand this coming summer, Covid permitting, and son is thinking about it. Last night, he started our call with, “I am in Thailand.” Instead of my usually, “oh, that’s nice. How is Thailand?” I discouraged that whole track. I didn’t think to turn it into the I am in Thailand game.
I don’t see it as a lie. I suspect he was testing me. There was certainly room to play in that situation. Maybe he wanted to role play how I felt about his going to Thailand without me. Maybe he is worried about the trip? I think the last time he was there he was three. I have pictures of him with his grandparents. He was very respectful at the temple. He picked that up quick enough, imitating his grandfather.
I am not sure why I was so determined to ground him back in his room in California. It affected my dream and I thought about it all the way to work this morning, all the ways we could have fun with that. We play pretend games all the time.
Role reversal
Here’s the reverse of that. One day, while he was with me, week of Christmas, he was instructing me on using hand…
