Isn't that nice?

PJ has never been a cuddler. Maybe I had been holding him wrong.

When you think of a baby, you think of a small human that wants to be held every day. Or at least that has been my interpretation.

That was until my wife Susan and I had PJ.

I remember trying to hold my newly born son a few years ago and it always seemed like he liked his crib or his blanket more than he liked snuggling with his father.

I remember I used to say, “aw, isn’t that nice?,” thinking that I had him in a comfortable spot. And automatically he would squirm to get out of my grasp.

He enjoyed being swaddled for a couple of weeks and after his legs found freedom, he wasn’t having it anymore.

I tried to hold him like I held him as a baby the other day. He declined. Then I said, “wait! I want to tell you a story.”

I am a terrible storyteller, but I set myself up.

I started telling him the story of Michael Jordan during the Bulls championship years and how a young boy saw the greatest player of all time. I then told him of the story of Derrick Rose and all of his injuries.

I did well. Then he asked me for another long story, as he stayed in my arms. If it was too short, he would let me know about it.

So, then I started telling him of a boy who had traveled to New York and met a beautiful girl with extremely beautiful blue eyes. He put two and two together quickly.

“You are the boy, daddy,” PJ said.

I thought to myself, “my son is pretty smart,” and then I asked him who the girl was.

He gave me a blank stare, and eventually figured out it was his mommy.

After another story, I ran out of ammo. But he wanted another story and wanted me to keep holding him but my arms were growing tired.

So, minutes later he started telling me a story; or at least he was trying to. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I did make an effort to listen.

After that, we played with a couple of his action figure toys.

The interaction surprised me and I am glad it happened.