A Goldilocks story

What on earth is that, you ask?  That is Felix's toothbrush in Felix's toothbrush holder which has been stuck onto the cap of Felix's toothpaste by--you guessed it--Felix.  And frankly, I admire him for it.

I don't think anyone can accurately predict what sort of parent they will turn out to be.  Having become one, however, your natural parenting style manifests itself in short order.  I was unaware of this fact and thus long before the birth of my own children imagined I had already chosen what sort of parent to be.  I had three models before me, having observed my eldest three siblings with their own kids over the years.  It looked (upon what was never better than casual inspection and that with the willfully callow eye of the bachelor) like a Goldilocks story:  one was too strict, the other too permissive, the third just right in her (oops, I gave it away) balance between the two.  Well now, I'll be, let's see, hmmm...hey, I'll be just right!

I'm not.  I'm too strict.  At some deep level I feel it better to be feared than loved.  Misbehavior offends my sense of order.  With sleep in short supply I exist in a base state of annoyance.  Whatever the reason, several years of experience prove that I am not just right, I am certainly not too permissive, I am, simply said, too strict.

Felix is a bright boy with ideas of his own.  Lots and lots of ideas.  His latest such was that his toothbrush and its holder should live in his room.  Do I need to explain to you what a bad idea I found that to be?  Are you surprised to hear that I dismissed this proposal out of hand?  No.  But did that stop Felix?  Of course not.  Felix, tired of the toothbrush always being in the same place, certain there was a better arrangement to be had, invented (quite behind my back) a compromise.  I am delighted to see it and hereby publicly confess that he is the better man for having found it (or even looked for it) first.  Good for you, boy.

And how will Gideon deal with this too strict father of his?  As my other entries have perhaps suggested, Gideon is mischievous by nature.  Suggestion, however, is but a part truth, so let me state it more baldly:  that kid is flat out trouble.  So, how will Flat Out Trouble deal with this too strict father of his?  I don't know, but something tells me the thoughtful and practical compromise will prove more characteristic of the older child than the younger.