Call me Daddy

Recently, Charlie began calling Dave, “Dave.” At first I was not ok with it; a 3 year old should call his daddy, “daddy.” Dave didn’t really have a problem with it and even thought it was kind of funny. Of course we disagreed; there are few things we agree on. Usually I talk him into agreeing with me… ha, no I am just joking. We have civilized, constructive conversations where each of us listens to each other’s interests and in the end… Dave agrees with meJ! Or gives up, whichever, the result is usually the same!

I have been thinking about how to approach this with Charlie and what the conversation might look like. This got me thinking… why should he call Dave “daddy”? Does he really HAVE to? Should he really HAVE to? Does tradition and the rules of respect mean that he has to call him “dad” or “daddy”? He’s calling him by his first name, I don’t think it’s dis-respectful. Now, if he were walking around calling Dave “poopy head” we would have a problem… a funny problem, but a problem. I want to be called “mommy” because I feel so blessed to be a mommy I want to be called it for as long as my baby will call me it, and it feels so good to be someone’s mommy! When you ask Charlie what my name is he says, “Mommy” which makes me smile. The other day he came home from day care and asked me if my name was “Biz”? I said it was and he looked at me and smiled and said, “No, its mommy.” I know there are safety reasons that he should know my first and last name, but for now I am going to soak up the “mommy”!

Before I was going to have the “call Dave daddy” talk I decided to do a little observing. When does he call him Dave? Is it all the time? Is it in the same situations? After a few observations, I decided Charlie is a genius and has just adapted to life with his father (as I did about 4 years ago).  Dave has a “magical gift” (that’s how he thinks of it) of being able to tune people out COMPLETELY. I can be standing right in front of him saying, “Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave” but until I say something like, “Dave the house is on fire” he will not even notice me. This is not ALL the time… I would have killed him by now if it was. But you sit that guy in front of a TV or Movie and he is in the “tune-out zone”. Charlie has also observed Dave’s behavior and has adapted, if he says, “daddy, daddy, daddy,” he may get no response. But the minute he says “Dave” he gets a response. Genius if you ask me, especially from a 3 year old. I have decided that Charlie can call Dave “Dave” whenever he wants because I understand his “tune-out” frustration!