Man of the Hour

Happy Tuesday Readers.  I'm sure you've heard the old saying “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”.  Yeah?  Well, it also turns out that if you call a man a fish, you can teach him for the evening.  It's true.

After dinner last night, Lukas was playing with one of those feathers on a rope we usually use to torture the cats into confessing which one of them puked in the entry way, or alternatively who unrolled the toilet paper into a clawed up heap onto the bathroom floor. 

Well, after tiring from several failed attempts to get them to 'talk' he turned the thing into a fishing pole and caught yours truly by sticking the slimy gnawed up feather thing straight into my back pocket while I wasn't looking.  Excited that he had snagged a Big Fish he indicated that he was presently going to cook me up and eat me.  He even went so far as to open up the oven doors on the play kitchen.  I, of course protested, tyring to convince him that at my age my flesh would be tough and as tasteless as I am.

When that didn't work I switched strategies, instead pleading to his empathetic side.  "But I have a fish family.  If you eat me, then I won't be able to see them again" I pleaded.  This plea was met with a moment of contemplation, before ultimately I was pardoned and made into a pet. 

From then on, and for the rest of the evening I was an instant friend.  "Fishy, come to the bathroom with me.  Fishy, let me show you all my rockets.  Fishy, follow me." 

What turned out to be the great part though was how, as I assumed the role of the fish friend, he assumed the role of a teacher.  Lukas wanted to show his new found fish buddy everything about life above water, including how we ate off of plates, how we read books to learn things, and how we got ready for bed.  He even brought Fishy in to show him how the toilet worked.  Then when he showed me how to flush, I asked "So, where does the dirty water go?"  "To the ocean he replied" and busted up when I stared back with a look of horror on my face.  "That's my home!" I kidded before Mrs. LIAYF reminded him that it made a stop to get cleaned first.

The whole role playing game was a lot of fun and Lukas who may have been a bit hyped up from too much Valentines candy, was so excited he talked non stop to his fish buddy for what seemed like 45 minutes.  Then, as it came time to tuck him into bed and read bedtime stories, the unthinkable happened.  "I want Fishy to stay and read me stories tonight Mommy" he told Mrs. LIAYF.  Normally, this is strictly a Mommy job around our house, and with his recent trend towards favoring his mother over me it came as a nice surprise to hear.

Still, Mrs. LIAYF hadn't seen him all day so she suggested that we all read together.  "Sure!" he replied. And we did just that.

As it turns out, the happiness I got from the whole experience has fed me all day.