I came home from work, a day that many people did not have to work in honor of our first President’s birthday. Swee’Pea and TheMonk stayed home with Mommy, spending the day with my gorgeous better half and getting some quality two-on-one time with their mother. The main event of the day was a trip to a park not in our immediate neighborhood. Yes, Mommy was feeling brave.

As I arrived at home at the end of the day, and entered our den from the garage, I was greeted with my usual rock-star treatment. Screams of joy, raucous laughter, frantic, clawing hugs and slobbery kisses all were bestowed upon me as I walked through the door.

And then the kids said hi.

I sat my belongings down and bent down to talk to the kids about their day. TheMonk clambered up into my lap and began to tell me about his trip to the park.

“Swee’Pea and me played. And then a girl came up and said hi to ME!” TheMonk says with his deep brown eyes serious, as if he was telling me that the sky was blue or that Swee’Pea is grouchy in the morning.

“A girl said hi to you?” I asked, smiling at the importance TheMonk placed on this small interaction over everything else that had happened that day.

“Yeah,” he replied. “A girl said hi to me!” he repeated.

“She did?” I asked. “Did you like it when she said hi to you?”

“Yes.” he says, slowly nodding for emphasis.

And I said the only thing that came to mind. I looked over at my wife and said with a grin…

“That’s my boy.”