Ground Control to Major Dad

"Houston, this is Space Rover One, over."

"Space Rover One, we read you loud and clear."

"Houston, we are prepared for take off."

       "I want to drive, let me get the steering wheel."

"OK, Get the steering wheel, I will hold the door open."

I lift up the blanket so T can get out from beneath it. It is a baby blanket, which is way too short to use as a space ship, but it was the closest thing I could grab. T climbs down from the sofa and his feet hit the floor running. He quickly finds the steering wheel from a video game and runs back to take command of our improvised vessel. 

     "OK, I'm going to fly the space ship."

"That's right, you fly it. I'll tell you where to turn."

     "OK,  You tell me that, Daddy."

And with that, we were off for a fifteen minute flight which took us past the moon, and several planets, and then back again to Earth. It was something he asked me to do in the morning before I went off to work, but I didn't have time then. I promised him that I would play space ship with him when I got home, and he held me to it, reminding me of it the first second my bottom hit the sofa cushion to relax. T has a remarkable memory for things like that.  He is also good at remembering where things are. It is so amazing for me to see how well he remembers things. I have such a poor memory already, and I am only in my 40's. For me to remember where my keys to the farm truck are is a good thing, and I put them in the same place every day. 

Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but T plays with Play-Doh a lot. He has the cups of the stuff all over the house. The Play-Doh table on the other hand he hasn't used for at least a month. L pulled it out for him to play with, and once he saw it he told her there was a can of white Play-Doh in there he wanted to have. Seriously, I look around the living room here and I can see at least five different colors of Play-Doh cups that he plays with, and after at least a month he remembers there is a white can in the table? How do kids remember so well and me so badly? 

Anyway, to get off the tangent and back onto a main road, I'd like to recommend space ship piloting to anyone who gets the chance. I put this three foot by three foot baby blanket over our heads for the roof of a space ship, and he had a blast. We were all squished up next to each other under this blanket, and he is turning the steering wheel as I navigated us past the planets, asteroids and the moon. He now knows that asteroids are something to look out for when flying a space ship, and may also accidentally remember a few of the planets names as well. That's not too bad for a few minutes of fun on the sofa with dad. It is just not often enough that I can figure out how to integrate learning into the play times and still have it be fun and a great bonding moment that I hope I never forget.