“For Pete’s Sake”

I honestly have no idea where he comes up with these things some times.

The snow was falling for the first time this season, a cold chill in the air, and the heat rising from my car as SiriusXm’s Holiday Traditions played some classics out of the radio (Yes, I’m one of those people listening to holiday music already. It puts me in a good mood as the snow falls, so I make no apologies).

Making our way through some of our usual routes, the little guy pipes up from the back seat, navigating.

“Turn here, dada.”

“This way, dada.”

“You got it, buddy.”

Then, some time later, as I’m waiting at a stop sign, I hear something I’ve never heard before.

“For Pete’s sake, let’s go. Come on, dada.”

He’s two but some days I feel like I’m chauffeuring a teenager around.

(sighs)

I suppose in many ways a toddler is very much like having all the emotional volatility of a teenager and no filter or way to fully communicate it.

Okay. So it’s not that I’m totally unaware of where it comes from. He’s been very, very, very into watching Mickey Mouse Christmas specials as of late and in one of the vignettes, a Goofy one about waiting for Santa to arrive, neighbor Pete hears something out his window and shouts “what in the name of Pete is goin’ on out here, for Pete’s sake?!”

As for the “come on,” well, Meg’s caught herself saying a few times, only to have it repeated back to her by our little human tape recorder.

There’s a lesson in here somewhere, that toddlers are sponges. They are true mimics. And whether it is what they see from the characters they watch, or what you say or what you do, they will look to you for their words and actions.

So make sure they’re the best ones you can muster.