Uh, there's a human in here.

As I sat here in my overstuffed recliner while surfing the web and trying to muster up the gumption to work on my father's website, my two-and-a-half year old son scampered into the room and exclaimed, "Hi!" in the sweet, toddler way a toddler does. He then continued his scampering and made his way to the sofa. The green train and black train he held, one each hand, were carefully placed on the seam between sofa cushions and they suddenly transformed into train tracks.

"Train! Train on track. Train tracks!"

Suddenly, he was laying on the floor and the tongue-and-grooves of our hardwood floors magically morphed into train tracks too!

I was struck by the powerful realization that there's another little human being in my house.

He's not a "baby". He's not a "toddler". He's not a "child". He's a person. He has his own way of doing things, his own likes and dislikes. He rocks out to Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" and "Boogie Woogie Choo-choo Train". He's kind to his sister. He's gentle and inquisitive. He's mischievous, easy to smile and likes to laugh.

I know that many parents love to dream about the future of their children. The imagine the child's future career, spouse, happiness, success, financial security, and even possible fame. It's impossible for me to think about those things. My brain can't take me there because I'm so caught in the moment of right now. Of course I wish happiness, health, joy and accomplishment for my son. But I just can't envision him as an adult or even a teenager. He's so perfect right now that I can't wrap my brain around him as anything other than who he is right now.

He was the baby for so long but suddenly he's another person. I am constantly amazed that I helped create this perfect little person.