Twenty-one on none

Confession: I still get a kick out of "Bears on Wheels" by the Berenstains.

It's one of the first books my parents read to me when I was little.

I also introduced it to Charlie and Thomas when they were little, and it stuck with us. Even today, when I'm with my 'big guys' and we see people on bicycles, it always occurs to one of us to blurt out how many people on how many wheels there are (example: "Three on six").

Recently, it occurred to me that I'd like to share this classic with my preschooler, Jacob. I ordered it from ThriftBooks (always my first resort for buying books online), and it was shipped to my office.

I waited anxiously for the end of the workday, anticipating my son's giggles at the pictures and narrative of bears falling onto and off of various wheeled things.

Then I started second-guessing my anticipation. Was I being too optimistic? What if Jacob didn't like the book the way I did? Would I be upset? Why did I want Jacob to have the same kind of experiences his older brothers had? Was this about him or about me and my nostalgia?

Sheesh. It's just a book.

Anyway, much to my delight, Jacob found "Bears on Wheels" very entertaining and soon began requesting it at bedtime.

A couple of weeks ago, Jacob and I were on a walk and saw two bicyclists pedaling by.

I said, "Two on four."

He said, "No, it's not two on four." (He disagrees with things he doesn't understand. Don't we all?)

I explained: "It's two guys on four wheels."

"Oh, it is?"

Then we went into the math. "It's two wheels on one bike and two wheels on the other bike. Two plus two is ..."

"Four!" He got it.

Thanks to Stan and Jan Berenstain, I can reinforce simple addition with my son (and eventually  multiplication by two)  every time someone goes by on a bicycle.

If you have never read the book, you probably won't understand the title of this post, "Twenty-one on none." But I won't give it away. It's best that you discover it on the printed page, as my sons and I have.

What literary gems from your childhood have you shared with your kids?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="124" caption="It's Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs. The theme is "Books.""][/caption]

Been there, done that, so what?

People I meet at my son's preschool are sometimes surprised to learn that Jacob has two adult half-brothers. When I told one of the dads, he said, with hints of awe and envy, "So you've already done the whole thing -- this is easy for you."

He and I both know that it never gets "easy" no matter how many kids you have. As we talked, it became clear that he was talking about confidence more than competence.

Like most recycled dads, I am more confident and less anxious as a parent this time. But let's face it: I don't really have any special advantage over the average parent of multiple children.

The last time I had a child Jacob's age was 15 years ago. Any parent with more recent experience with a preschooler has an advantage over me.

I guess there may be  special insights I've gained from seeing my older sons grow all the way to adulthood, but I think the confidence and ease that I feel are mostly 'conjured' -- the result of feeling that I have 'been there, done that.' It's the parenting equivalent of Dumbo's magic feather.

Fafa faa fa, fa fafa faa fa

When I've got nothing to say,
my lips are sealed.
Say something once,
why say it again?

But there are lots of great
Dad Bloggers (24 of them so far)
who do have something to say
on this excellent Fatherhood Friday.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="124" caption="It's Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs. The theme is "End of Summer, Start of Fall.""][/caption]