Bonzai: Thoughts and Expressions

Fun with Duncan

My 5-year old son, Duncan, amazes me sometimes. I received Halo 2 for the X-Box as a birthday present a couple of months ago and managed to get most of the way through the game. Duncan really enjoys what he calls ‘bad guy games’ and was immediately drawn to Halo. He was having a hard time with the full size controller that comes with the console so we went out and got him this smaller unit that fits more easily in his hands. That was the last time I was able to beat him in the game.

I went upstairs and watched him play for a few minutes this weekend without him being aware of my presence. He has beaten the game at all difficulties now and has all of the maps memorized. He was just effortlessly breezing through the screens and noticed I was watching him. He invited me to play and I picked up a controller. Oops. I have now been officially dethroned as the video game king of the household as I was thoroughly beaten and humbled by a 5-year old – and he was chattering and laughing the whole way through. He earned the title, fair and square. What can I say?

We went out for a bite to eat and stopped by the pet store on the way back home. Duncan really enjoys critters as long as they are behind glass or in a cage. After checking out the homeless cats, frogs, fish and birds, we were walking by the hamsters & guinea pigs and he wanted to take a peak. Up until this point, he was simply mildly amused and interested in these captive critters and then he spotted the gerbils. They’re cute and quick and about as curious as he is. When Duncan put is face close to the glass, they scattered – apparently panic stricken at the site of his face invading their space. Duncan started laughing so hard I thought he was going to stop breathing! The little critters quickly poked their faces out again and Duncan startled them again, roaring with laughter and drawing a small crowd of children. After 3 or 4 minutes of terrorizing these poor rodents, we made good our escape and was far enough away to avoid the lecture of the employees to the other kids that were still doing their best to give the poor animals a heart attack. Duncan continued laughing and smiling all the way back to the car.

His mother thinks he is too young for a slingshot, but I think he would have fun with it. I think she is from the "You'll shoot your eye out!" school of thought but I think he has a better head on his shoulders than that. Besides, it's not a Red Rider BB gun, it's a slingshot - how bad could it really be? They have these cheap plastic marbles that can be used for ammo. They easily tag targets and are a little easier on the windows. Perhaps his dad can get one and let him borrow it from time to time. Hehee. Anyway, he loves animals so I doubt he would be shooting the dog or birds or anything. We'll see. :-)

posted by Bonzai @ 8:37 AM