I invited Ezra to sit with me this morning as I wrote my blog post. His eyes immediately were drawn to the thumbnail pictures of me on the screen. "There's Nate. And there's Nate," he said. "Daddy," he continued, "is that your glasses and your head and your hair and your chin?" Yes, dear. Yes, it is. Now it's onto the computer battery. "Daddy, what's this called?" A computer battery, I responded. "Oh. A computer battery. Daddy, why is this for your mouse [pointing at the USB]? Is that to make the mouse and that to make the mouse move on the screen [point at the keyboard]?" And so it goes. Little minds connect all of the dots, starting with the right questions. All we have to do is answer them, and keep answering.
A wonderful piece in The Wall Street Journal this past weekend beautifully summarizes the joy of having a big family. Written by Mark Oppenheimer , "Yes, We Really Do Want to Have A Fifth Child" articulates why more children doesn't (always) mean more crazy. For example, Oppenheimer shares that : "Every one of our four children has improved my life" "With a big family, I never have to feel guilty about the clutter" "Having children has made our marriage stronger Here, here. The column reminded me of comedian Jim Gaffigan's routine about having four youngsters, which seems to be frequently frowned upon, viewed as an Olympic feat or solemnly mulled at a distance by people mourning our adult autonomy: Of course, Gaffigan now has five children, as will Oppenheimer. Julie and I have thrown in the towel at four. But there's still a lot to live for, and by living, I mean running at breakneck speeds through life, stopping for no