Aidan the Activist ~ BitterSweetLife

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Aidan the Activist

Aidan James Vanderhorst
Aidan and I have invented a new game. At least that’s what I’m calling it.

For some time now Aidan has been joining me at the computer as I slap together my blog posts. He watches me as I enact my pre-blog ritual: staring blankly at the screen, downing a tankard of pitch-black coffee in three gulps, chasing it with a shot of vodka, and then typing, relentlessly pounding the keyboard, publishing my post (on average) about four minutes later. Aidan watches and takes notes.

Not really.
Aidan James

What Aidan does instead is sit on my lap and craftily attempt to sabotage my work. Aidan is extremely handy with his feet (how do you like that?), which makes me afraid that he’ll be a soccer star instead of playing at KU and then in the NBA. But more to the point, he likes to push and kick things with his feet. So as he sits there, helping me type and occasionally offering editorial suggestions, he will deviously move his feet closer and closer to the keyboard. (At this stage in his life, he has the flexibility of a very large frog.)

Aidan James Vanderhorst

Then, after he has inched his toes up to the keyboard, WHAM! he disables it with a sudden kick. Fortunately, It didn’t take long for me to catch onto his little game.

Now our blogging sessions go like this:

Aidan moves his feet up on the keyboard. I push them down. Aidan looks away, then inches his feet towards the keyboard and I push ‘em down. Aidan smiles up at me and lifts his feet onto the—I push them down. Aidan does a little crow (like Peter Pan) and shoves his—I push them down. Aidan spits up (a clever diversion) and slides—I push them down. Aidan twitches his calf muscles—I push them down. Aidan moves—I push them down. I push them down. Push them down, push them down, push them down.

I’m not sure what surprises me more, this kid’s willpower, his persistence, or his strength and agility. I can see an epic struggle for dominion approaching on the horizon.

Filed in:



Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

5 comments:

littlepeace said...

So when are we going to hear from Aidan directly?

My dad was very tickled by this post. :D I mean, he laughed. A lot. Computers aren't quite personable enough yet to actually tickle someone. I hope.

Alaina said...

All right, so I can no longer be a lurker...Aidan is so cute! We stumbled across your blog awhile back and really enjoy it! This is Alaina formerly Judd. Please tell your family 'hello' and keep up the great work.

Unknown said...

You could be stifling the next Fifa star player. Forget bending it like Beckham, this kid could out-manoeuvre Ronaldo.

(It has just occurred to me that football, or soccer as you guys call it, is not very big in America. Or to put it correctly, doesn't take on the proportions of obsession in your part of the world that it is stalked with everywhere else. Hence you may have no idea what I'm on about in the above... oh well. Let the kid play the beautiful game, is all I'm saying.)

AJ said...

"So when are we going to hear from Aidan directly?"

Actually, Aidan has addressed his adoring public personally on several occasions. Here are a what I think are some of his better commentaries: Smack-Talking Baby, Aidan's Girl Trouble, The Baby Speaks.

"All right, so I can no longer be a lurker...Aidan is so cute!"

Hey Alaina! Thanks for coming out of the woodwork. Aidan has magnetism, I'll say that. :) I'll tell the rest of my family hey.

"Hence you may have no idea what I'm on about in the above... oh well. Let the kid play the beautiful game, is all I'm saying."

I played soccer myself for about five years before I realized I had to give it up for my true love. So what am I saying? I guess soccer will have its chance with Aidan. (Admittedly I don't know who Ronaldo is, though.) Nevertheless, I can only hope that the beautiful game gives way to a more...mature...sport. ;)

littlepeace said...

Yes, yes, but when will we get to hear (read) something he himself has, with such apparent skill and dexterity, tapped out with his toes? Perhaps when he has left the large frogs in the dust? :)

 

Culture. Photos. Life's nagging questions. - BitterSweetLife