Can You Tell Me About It Daddy?

Alright, now I can't make any more comments about Val or Tanya blogging since I have joined the club. This is my first foray and is going to be a glimpse into Tyler's curiosity bug.

So, aside from a portable DVD player that we bust out 1 or 2 times a year on trips to see Grammy and Grandpa John in Bend, OR, we have been set against movies and tv's during car rides (they get enough of that at home in the mornings!). There is the constant drum of music (Dinosaur Songs, Raffi, Compilations and Country) that Tyler always insists is too quiet but it is never quite enough. I don't know what inspires him or how the thoughts come to him but no sooner do we hit the road than Ty's brain starts working and his requests come flying in the form of; Can you tell me about it, Daddy?

As in tonight on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner...

Why do doggies go pee-pee on fire hydrants, Daddy? Can you tell me about it?

Or yesterday while we took a bike ride to Safeway...

Why do rascally teenagers put bubbles in our water fountain, Daddy? Can you tell me about it?

Or frequently...

Do you remember when we went into the stinky bathroom on the way to Bend and you said you were going to die? Can you tell me about it, Daddy? (that is actually quite a funny story that evolves to include a stick, a squirrel and a harrowing adventure back into the trailhead bathroom somewhere along Hwy 26 near Mt. Hood where upon entry I once again thought...I was going to die!)

Now, many of these stories Tyler has heard over and over and he is a stickler for repetition and ACCURACY! Sometimes I'm tired and cut the story short, sometimes I might be in a bad mood and leave something out and other times I'm just curious to see how attentive he is being but it's probably a needless test at this point because each path earns this response from Ty...

Daddy, can you tell me about it again but start from the beginning and tell me THE WHOLE THING!

It's kind of like the time I read a book to Ty after Val had read it to him twice, maybe three times. When I pronounced the word route (sounds like cow only with an r in front and t at the end like I'm British) I hadn't gotten more than a syllable into the next word in the story when Ty said, "You don't say it like that, you say route!" (sounds like root and the way normal Americans and Val say it)

I won't lie, it's taxing at times having to drive and answer all of Ty's questions as we go but the great thing is that it makes the time fly by and must be a great form of mental exercise for him. I know it is for me and I swear there have been trips that I have become hoarse in the end from having to tell him about it, and then tell it to him again, the whole thing from the beginning.