I’m having a “mommy moment” over here. By which I mean the sensation that my child has just done something AMAZING that no child has ever done before. Or at least not as well or as cutely. I’ve had similar feelings lately when I’ve watched Simon eat ice cream (Have you ever seen a kid look so cute eating a cone?), play in the car (Have you ever seen a kid look so cute pretending to drive?), or even sit on a bench (Is he not the cutest bench-sitter ever?)
I’ll call it parental exceptionalism and promise that, like its cousin American exceptionalism, I can describe it without endorsing it. I attribute this latest surge to the fact that last week Simon and I had a great week after a series of rougher ones, and also to the fact that he’s going through a mommy phase right now. But don’t take my word for it. Just last week Matt asked Simon—in public no less—which of us he preferred. I think he was joking, but Simon immediately and cheerfully answered in a way that will discourage this question’s being asked again any time soon.
On to tonight. Simon’s AMAZING feat is that he stood about six feet from his downstairs basketball goal (aligned with the X on the play mat; so I’m calling it the “charity cross” from now on) and landed about ten baskets. Now, he missed tenfold that number, but I am amazed he landed any. I’ve only ever seen him dunk before. Watch out Kyle Macy!
And the kid was stoked. He squealed in delight every time he sank a ball and was clearly and understandably proud of himself. We cheered him on, but I think all the pleasure came from within. He acted much the same a week or so ago when he played “punch-ball” (just imagine volleyball without a net or teammates) on the Whitworths’ driveway. Any time his fist made contact with the ball, Simon screamed with pride.
Nothin' but net, baby!
I, alas, am feeling less triumphant about the photos. I snapped on two settings: sport/action and child. Come to find out, “child” has the faster shutter speed, but Simon only scored when I was set to sport/action. So look closely here at the blurry picture. The shadowy blur heading into the hoop is the basketball. Sigh. We can’t all be exceptional in this household…