Friday, September 16, 2005

Off the Road

I am back. I wanted to thank my brother the Lawn Whisperer for filling in for me for the past few days. I hope you enjoyed him. I know he enjoyed blogging for the first time.

Traveling for work is something that I enjoy doing. Sure, it has its drawbacks, like missing Lauren and Maxfield, eating bad take out, Mapquest, airports, getting lost and other such nonsense.
But it also has some advantages. I enjoy being in small towns or other cities that I would never think of visiting. I enjoy driving and sometimes the solitude that driving distances provides. I enjoy eating bad take out. And this past trip provided me with the opportunity to do something that I never really thought about until it happened.

I had my first phone conversation with Maxfield.

Now Max knows what the phone is but I do not think he knew what it does. As far as he was concerned it was just another remote control to break. He knew to hold it to his ear because he has seen Lauren and I use the phone all the time. But that was the extent of it.

I called right before Lauren was putting him to bed. I asked Lauren to put him on the phone so I could say goodnight. Once I knew he was on, I said hello. Max knows a few words. Not many but a few. We never counted. He knows what is being said to him but never really repeats anything in English.
Me: How was your day today?
Max: Dada baa. Dooo duh duh duh.
Me: Really? Are you taking care of mom?
Max: Babop, baah bah. Ta doo. Oooooohhh.

He started babbling. High pitched mumbling. He was talking to me. He was telling me about his day. Just babble. But I knew that THIS babbling was because he heard me, his Dad on the phone. He was excited to hear me. I was excited to hear him.
Me: Max, What does a cow say?
Max: Mooooouuuuuh
Me: What does a kitty cat say?
Max: Mow
Me: What does a dog say?
Max: Hoof hoof hoof.

Lauren told me, once she was back on the phone, that his face lit up when I started talking to him. After I hung up, I turned on the television in the hotel to watch INXS Rock Star. But, I couldn’t really get into it. I kept repeating to myself, with a huge smile on my face, “hoof, hoof, hoof.”

13 comments:

The Q said...

So sweet and touching.

c said...

One of my husband's favorite memories is the day that our son (then about Max's age) sat on the bed and had a conversation with him.

I even have it on video!

eclectic said...

Oh the can of worms you've opened now... Littlest Eclectic has an obsession with the phone and dials Grammy and whomever else constantly if given the opportunity. And by that, I mean, we go to sleep, or take a shower, or step out of earshot for a nano-second, or something. *sigh*

SuzanH said...

That is so wonderfully sweet.

Unknown said...

Oh man... that is a GREAT conversation! I find myself "hearing" the way my kids say (or used to say) things all the time. It makes me smile, especially when I'm at work. :)

Kami said...

Aw, you're such a sweet pops!

Kari said...

Awwww, Max is so lucky, what a sweet daddy.
I'm sure it made Lauren's night too.
My nephew is 4 now and he calls me and can carry out full length conversations, I love it! Nothing brightens my day more than talking to him on the phone, too cute. hoof hoof hoof.

Milliner's Dream, a woman of many "hats"... said...

I'd read the Lawn Whisperer's blog if he had one, but good to have you back. You're an original.

Watching RockstarINXS, too, are we? I'm addicted.

I remember those days with a little one babbling on the phone. Now my man-boy#1 at age 20 babbles on the phone only to his girlfriend not me, and man-boy#2 hates the phone, but he's still a hugger at 18.

I loved this post--great memories.
Hh

Jewl said...

When Emmy talks to her Daddy on the phone she gets a huge grin as well, Then she keeps turning her head to look in the phone and see if she can find him....LOL
Congrats on your first phone conversation with your son!

Susie said...

Just smiling. That is all.

Anonymous said...

Awww, hoof hoof!

Effie said...

Oh--he loves his Daddy--so sweet!

Unknown said...

That is too cool. How old is Max now? I should try it next time Mike is out of town. Not sure if Nathan would figure out it's his dad on the phone.