Paging Doctor Barile

One of the cool (and terrifying) bits of being a parent is imagining your child as a grown up. For instance, sometimes as I watch Alice construct amazing train track formations, I wonder if the future engineer in her is emerging. Once in Gymboree I witnessed her during bubble popping time take a grid approach to popping the bubbles on the gymnastics mats. It made me think of archeologists searching for artifacts. Unfortunately, my imaginings are not all good. After watching the movie Madagascar Alice enjoyed dancing and singing to the song "Move It". That in itself is not too bad. The fact that she preferred to dance and sing naked caused concern (and cold sweats for me). I could only envision a pole in her future or a role in her generation's version of Jersey Shore.


And, oftentimes, my dreams for Alice's future are interrupted by laughter (usually mine). This hit home during dinner today. While I finished eating, Alice examined the butterfly garden map we received at the Bronx Zoo with a magnifying glass. She was so intent on her study she was actually silent for small periods of time (stunning, I know). While I cleaned up, I thought to myself, "Wow…maybe that trip to the Bronx Zoo might lead to a career in lepidopterology. How cool would that be?" I had just completed this mental self dialogue when I noticed Alice was now on the floor and using the magnifying glass to study the pug's ass. Alice saw me looking at her and said, "Look, Mommy. Big butt (move magnifying glass away from pug's rear). Little butt" (move magnifying glass close to pug's rear). Oh well, maybe a career in proctology is on the horizon.