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Ms. Pikachu managed to pull her own tooth yesterday. The wife asked her what the tooth fairy should bring her. First she said Pokemon cards, or course. Then she decided on a dollar. Trainboy complained that he tooth fairy didn't bring him anything the last time he lost a tooth. Whoops, major mistake, how did we miss that? So the wife asked him what he should have gotten. He said, "A dime. A golden dime." Hard price. She countered with, "How about a golden dollar?" Sold to the highest bidder. He was thrilled. So excited he slept with his head under his pillow. Which is where the coin would usually go, but he got it. He carried his Sacajawea dollar around with him all day.

I tried to check e-mail when I got home. Ms Pikachu was on the computer, scanning her latest Pokemon drawings. When I walked in the room she was doing a sing-song "yeah-yeahh, yeah-yeahh, yeah-yeahhhhhh, poopy." Sometimes there are just no words. Sometimes it becomes obvious why Dad walked around shaking his head. Have kids of your own and you start to understand your parents.

The wife slipped into her SuperNurse uniform and off she went to save lives.

I grabbed the bills, the checkbook, sat on the frontporch swing, and wrote checks. It was pleasant. There were the lilacs, a cardinal singing, and the occasional car rushing by.

After a few minutes the front door opened, and out stepped Train Boy. He smiled and asked, "Did I just hear you laughing?" I said no, just writing checks, nothing funny out here. A few minutes later, again the door opens, again, "Did you just laugh?" I said no, maybe it was Ms Pikachu upstairs. He turned and opened the door. Then he exclaimed with the excitement of a great epiphany, "Maybe she farted!" Sometimes, there are just no words.

After finishing the bills I took them inside. Trainboy applied the stamps and address stickers because he likes to do that. I asked Ms Pikachu if she wanted to go along to Target and the Post Office. She declined, she was busy posting Pokemon drawings on the web. Train Boy said he'd go if the next 'Ed, Edd, and Eddie' wasn't the one where they get married to the Canker sisters. Yeah, that was a good one, I'd stay home for that too. But it was not to be, so we both went.

When we got to Target he held my hand as we walked up to the store. I love that so much. I wish it would never stop. But he's about six, and it won't be long it will be over. Have to enjoy it while I can. Every day he lines out another day on the calendar, counts the days till his birthday, and gives me the official count. Today it was 37. He's in such a rush to grow up, to be "big." How do you tell him, don't rush this, it's going by so fast, slow down, please, for me. So selfish of me.

We picked up our pictures. He made sure we got some Airheads candy for Ms Pikachu. They fight sometimes, but usually they really look out for each other.

On the way home we played one of his favorite games, "I spy." He started, then it was my turn. I don't want him to think I'm patronizing him, and I don't try to give him anything too hard. I said, "I spy with my little eye something that pumps blood, but doesn't pump blood." Sometimes it's just a matter of looking in the right direction and in this case he probably didn't. I waited, we passed it. He didn't know. I told him it was the big heart sign on the Heart Center. I doubled back to show him. I asked him if he'd had any ideas, he ventured, "Your heart." Ouch. That was too snide for a five year-old, even if he is about six. He couldn't have meant it that way, but it was a good hit. From now on it's just street lamps and signs.

Then we stopped at the Post Office. When I was a kid it was always special to put letters in the mail. So we went inside, and I held him up to the slots like always. And I handed them to him one by one like always. He pushed each one very slowly, pausing just before pushing it in, he was trying to make it last so I let him take his time.

Enough for tonight.
The Publicserf