Aidan, Age 8

In my last post, I said that Aidan makes my life easy, but that really doesn't do him justice. Hopefully this post expresses how Aidan makes my life wonderful and also gives you some insight into the funny little creature that he has become.

First, a little background. For the first four years of his life, Aidan was my all-consuming world. I was married to his father but was alone with Aidan much of the time. I made some seriously rookie parenting mistakes with him like allowing him to sleep in my bed almost every night, but I also did some great things like read to him for hours before bed, a tradition that is still alive and well in our home. I nursed him for 13 months (go me!), but probably rushed to his aid a little too quickly instead of instilling self-sufficiency.  

Aidan, six months old, rejecting his first food

As a baby, Aidan did not eat or sleep. He must have had some magical reserves of energy because he was certainly not getting it from food or bed. At eighteen months old, Aidan gave up naps completely and I don't think he has taken one since. His cousin Bob, six weeks his junior, took naps for hours every day until he started kindergarten at 6. 

Bob on the left, Aidan on the right. Best buds since birth. Bonus feature: Bob's awesome flat top. 

Aidan could read before he was potty-trained. This is both a compliment to his reading and a slam on his ability to potty-train. The kid was stubborn in a way that I have not seen before or since. At two and a half, I launched an aggressive campaign to potty-train him, taking away the diapers and running him to the toilet at the slightest whiff (pun intended) that he had to go to the bathroom. Aidan didn't poop for THREE DAYS and I finally gave up when I started to worry about his health. Bob, on the other hand, heard that Aidan was getting potty-trained and never wore another diaper. 

Around that same time, Aidan learned the sounds that all the letters in the alphabet make. By three, he was still not potty-trained, but could read simple sentences like "The cat in the hat" and "My name is Aidan." When he was finally potty-trained at 3 years, 10 months, he was reading board books on his own. 

Fast forward to the present day. Aidan is still the kindest, most hilarious, and, at times, exasperating child imaginable. Nothing bothers Aidan, ever. In his short life he has moved from Huntington Beach to Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, changing schools three times in the process. He has gone through divorce and gained a new father at six years old. Yet Aidan has never had a bad day in his entire life. The other day, he said to me "This is going to be the best summer ever because I have the best friends ever!" He has told me this every summer of his life with some variation.  When Aidan walks through school he says hi to everyone he knows, "Hi Charlie! Hi Brayden! Hi Owen!" 

Dancing at our wedding

Aidan at Dilworth with friends

Because he is so naturally resilient, Aidan is a tough kid to discipline. You can lecture him for 30 minutes and he will bounce away with a smile saying, "Okay!" In class, Aidan's teacher had to move him to his own island away from the other kids because he was so talkative and easily distracted. When she asked him after a few days if he wanted to go back he said, "No thank you, I think I get my work done better over here." Six months later, he informed her that he was ready to go back. 

Halloween, 2011

Halloween, 2013

Aidan is inquisitive and loves stories. We still read together almost every night and he has to interrupt constantly with questions that the book doesn't answer. Last night, we were reading the end of Harry Potter 5, and he was peppering me with questions and guesses about Sirius Black's death. "Where did he go when he fell through the curtain? Does he still have his wand? Is there food on the other side of the curtain?" Sometimes I have to say, "That is never addressed in the book. Can we just read now?"

Reading Calvin and Hobbes with a friend

Every night he tells me that he loves me more than anything in the world. Such a satisfying child. 

At the Canyons, 2014

As one might expect of sweet, sensitive, bookish children, Aidan is a terrible athlete. I say this by way of record and also so you know, dear reader, that I do see my son clearly and can recognize imperfection. When other boys run, Aidan meanders. His confidence and optimistic nature also means that he can't be bullied or coerced into trying harder. In the same way that Aidan said to Bob at two on potty-training, "Great job, Bob! Now I'll go back to my diapers." he seems to take the same approach to athletics. He is so happy for his team when they do well, but also perfectly happy to move at his own pace. He is, however, a pretty good little skier. I think solitary, offbeat sports will be the path for Aidan.

Silver Knights, 2013/14

Doing science things at the dining room table

So that is my son, age 8. He is smart, funny, sensitive, spacey, happy, confident, and charming. He loves being the center of attention yet needs approval from no one. He has the attention span of a hummingbird, but can listen to me read for hours on end. When I told him that I was graduating first in my class at UCLA, he was so proud that he cried. He came up with the name "Dadert" for Robert because Robert felt wrong and Dad was confusing. He once channeled Patrick Henry in our living room by crying out "Give me liberty or give me death!" and proceeded to faux-stab himself and collapse on the floor. He hates scary movies and bad language. He still doesn't understand why people are mean to each other, and when he grows up he wants to be a robot engineer. 

Aidan will change a lot in the coming years and hopefully this blog will continue to capture some of those changes. I wish I had started this when he was a baby, but I was young and busy and didn't understand how quickly memories vanish. I'll do better from here on out, I promise.

The Cummings Family, 2013