"Smartest Kid I Know"

Maddox and I spent the majority of the Thanksgiving weekend together. Whenever I get 4-5 day chunks of father/son time there's always sure to be more than a few funny moments. This weekend was no different. The funniest moment to me came Sunday afternoon as Maddox, my brother Trevin, and I drove over to visit my grandpa. In the car I got a call from my dad who wanted to say 'hello' to Maddox before he sailed off on his cruise to Mexico. As he talked with Maddox he told him that "grandpa is getting on a big boat, going out into the ocean..." Maddox responded with, "Grandpa, are you going on the Mayflower?" Maddox had been learning about Thanksgiving at school, and had some pretty funny commentary about the "childrens and the indians," as he calls them. Trevin and I were still amazed at the fact that a 2 year old went plymouth rock on us. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he tosses out "The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria," on me soon. As my sister and I talked about this the next day she said, "he's so smart." Maddox stopped playing with his cars and responded, "Yes, I am smart." I know I'm totally building my kid up to be the smartest kid ever, and I'm sure other parents that read this can think of reasons that their child is the smartest kid ever, or the best kid ever at (fill in the blank.) I guess that's the beauty of being the parent of a little child. Everyday they show glimpses of how remarkable they really are, and how much promise there really is in their future. I know that I often take these glimpses and run with them. I'll tell people all the time, "seriously, you should see how he throws a football, and he can catch, he's got big hands he'll be an excellent receiver." Or, "he totally is trying to read already, he can memorize every book that I read to him, he's going to go to Harvard and become the CEO of a major corporation." I literally believe that my child is going to graduate high school at 13, start at quarterback for USC at 14, stick around there for 2 years before going to the NFL, win a couple Superbowls, and then retire and go to Harvard Law School to work towards becoming a Supreme Court justice by the time he's 40. Alright, I only believe about half of that stuff. And he would have to actually potty train before he can accomplish any of it. I guess where my rambling in this post is leading you is the fact that each child has infinite potential. My theory with Maddox is that if I tell him that he's the greatest thing ever he'll start to believe it and will act/achieve accordingly. That's the plan anyways. And if he doesn't I'll still think he's the greatest thing in the world, and he'll hopefully feel that.