Misreading the Moment

Ok, I'll admit it. Sometimes I let my son watch too much television. But it's not my fault! Batman is on television. And when you can't get Batman there are other, slightly less awesome, things! It's hard to resist stuff like that.

But every now and then, even the TV seems to be telling you to read more books. This happened the other day when I found The Mouse and the Motorcycle on Netflix. It's a mid-80s adaptation of one of my favorite childhood books. The special effects are horrible. The acting is ridiculous. My son and I both loved it.

So there I was, a dad with a fun childhood memory that my son also appreciated, and an opportunity to spend some quality time together. We started reading a chapter of The Mouse and the Motorcycle together every night before bed.

Jono sleeps in a bunk bed even though he's an only child. It's awesome because the top bunk is awesome. Also, the bottom bunk sometimes gets turned into a cave. Caves? Also awesome.

Anyway, the other night I tucked Jono into his bed and I lay down on the bottom bunk to read him The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I had one of those moments that parents often have but usually don't admit; the "Wow, I'm such a great parent" moment. You know, that moment where you'd never SAY you're a great parent but you would gladly post a picture of your parenting activities on Instagram so everyone knows what a crafty, fun, motivated parent you are? Here's my picture of that moment (though it never made it to Instagram):

See?! See what a great dad I was being?! We have a dang LANTERN in that bedroom! It's like a CAMPOUT or something! We're reading a book that most little boys love! Whoa! Father of the Year?! I mean, I wasn't going to say it... but sure, maybe Instagram could say it for me!

Well, before I had time to add a filter to my photo, I had to actually read a bit of the book to my kid. Details, right? So we started reading. It was stinkin' magical. I was loving it. I assumed Jono was loving it.

Then I heard a page turn.

I hadn't turned a page.

"Hey, what book are you reading up there?" I asked.

"Uh... nothing." Jono replied.

"What is it?"

"Darth Vader and Son," he answered.

Darth Vader and Son is a hilarious picture book. I love it. Or I used to. 

"Well, I thought we were reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle!" I whined.

"Um... how about you read your book and I'll read my book," Jono said. "To ourselves."

I let Jono finish his book before turning out the lights. I got on Twitter. I avoided Instagram.