No, Deer ... I'm a Stag ...

Me: Hen... you're such a little stinker.
H: No, Mom. Henry's a stag.
Me: A Stag?
H: Yeah, sure.
Me: Okay, Got it. You're a little stag.
H: No, Mom! I'ma Big Stag! ...and you're Faline.
Pause.
H: And Dad is Thumper and Gra'ma is Flower.
Me: What about Bambi?
H: Ummm. Flynn is Bambi.
Me: Alrighty, then. So noted.

H-Man really loves reading. Like all the time. It's wonderful. He adores being read to and follows along ever so closely. Examining every last detail on every single page, forever burning each and every concept, word and picture into the catacombs of his mind. So be forewarned... skip a page, or an important sentence and he's Got You! As in: You're so Completely and 100% Busted.

"You missed it! Whadda doin'??!! Go back, go back!"
At the moment, and for several months now, he's been unabashedly apeshit crazy about these two books: "Bambi Grows Up" and "Bambi Gets Lost". Two books about Bambi that he doesn't just love... he LeeeeOOOvvvvvesssss them. Two Bambi books that, as it turns out, are actually my books... from when I was a kid. I loved my childhood books so much that I've packed them around with me for 20 years, after I left home. I'm not exactly sure how many I've still got, but it's probably in the ball park of 75... which sounds like a lot, but really isn't. Is it? In my defense, they're all quite thin. Besides, it completely warms my heart to see Him glean the very same magic from their pages, that I once did. Reading them is spellbinding and intoxicating and lovely. It's a lot like coming home, rediscovering and remembering the imaginary worlds they created for me as a child. However, Rereading them 3 or 4 or 5 or SIX times a day and then once more each night before bed, week after week, after week, after weeeeeeek... merely reduces them to mind numbing spine shrivelers. All until he moves on to something else, for a few short days. "Fox in Socks" has suddenly been catapulted to the top of the request log... which can only leave you incredibly sentimental for the little ol' Bambster and the gang, longing for their return to the beloved top of the proverbial book pile. "Fox in Socks" is tough. As in: Crazy ass Hard, Folks.

For those not up on the Bambi characters: The Stag is Bambi's dad, Faline is the girl he fancies, Thumper the rabbit and Flower the sweet, soft spoken skunk. Hmmm... now that I think about it... even Thumper's siblings have names. All save Bambi's Mother. Obviously not a relevant enough character to warrant a name. Go Figure.