Boo Hoo

I don't really know how to set this up without sounding preachy, so I'll just jump right into it. Below is a conversation I had with Sam, my 5-year-old son, yesterday.

The backstory is that, for reasons indiscernible to an imagination-choked grown-up like me, Sam loves to play in my car. I have a 1995 Toyota 4Runner that is on it's last legs. It runs, but only barely. However, it has a sunroof and a tailgate and it's messed-up enough that I don't care if he plays in it. So he does. Yesterday we were sitting on the tailgate messing with a busted-up plastic toolkit that he had found under one of the seats. It was missing some stuff, and wasn't that great to start with, so I said he could have it, which thrilled him to no end. But some of the plastic was coming off, and Sam decided that all of the plastic needed to come off (he likes things consistent and tidy, like his mommy). Only he wasn't strong enough to break the plastic off, so he asked me to do it.

The resulting conversation ended in Daddy trying to hide the fact that he was crying his eyes out right there on the tailgate.

Behold the great blessing of children:

Sam: Daddy, can you break this? Cause you’re the strongest.

Me: Sure. Someday you’ll be stronger than me, buddy. Did you know that?

Sam: What? When?

Me: When I get old. We’ll both be grown-ups at the same time, only you’ll be a young grown-up and I’ll be an old grown-up, and you’ll be stronger than me.

Sam: Oh.

Me: And someday you probably won’t want to play with me anymore.

Sam: Huh? Why?

Me: Well, when kids get older, sometimes they don’t want to play with their parents.

Sam: That’s not nice.

Me: I know, but it’s just the way it is.

Sam: I’ll play with you forever. Until you die. And then when I die and go to heaven, I’ll still play with you forever.

I'm not sure what I said after that, but I know it was all choked up and weepy.

Also, this is Sam on top of the car. Yeah, the Kings be some strict parents.