houpley

So how has your day been? I'm not Ben! I'm Jackson.

My parents recently came to help us out during a very rough time. During their stay, my mother had delicious, healthy meals on the table at the end of each day. The first evening she was no longer there, Jackson and I walked into the house together after a long day at work and school. He stepped into the sun room, glanced at the kitchen table and looked up at my face. "Mama?" he asked. "Why don't you have dinner on the table?" Ouch!

What's the matter, mama? Oh, it's a long story. Long? Like all the way to the ceiling and back?

Jackson had a rough day at school yesterday. Apparently, a fellow classmate continued to pull on his chair and he took a rather dental approach to the argument. That evening at home, we discussed "using our words" and if that didn't settle the dispute one should involve the teacher. "Want to practice it?" I asked him. He grinned and was game for a run through. "Ok, I'll be Jackson, you can be Mary* and daddy will be the teacher over there," I outlined. We acted out the scene and Jackson went through protocol expertly. But then he was ready to practice again. But this time he was Mary. Then we had to run through once more and now he was the teacher. After several scenarios, Eric turned to me with a weary look and muttered... "You've pretty much turned him into a D&D nerd." *names have been changed