"Like Living With Drunks..."

A reporter once asked Johnny Depp what it was like being a dad. He likened having kids to, "living with drunks."



Cooper stumbles around speaking slurred gibberish and leaving a path of destruction in his wake. But I don't see him so much as a rummy. He's more like E.T.



The other day while we were walking through the courtyard, Coop stopped at a rose bush. He went to grab at the thorns and I said, "NO NO! OUCHIE!" And he responded with this worried and intrigued noise that sounded just like E.T. I practically heard John Williams' music underscore the moment.



As he waddled by my side, he continued making sounds of wonder and confusion. I could tell that he thought the flowers were pretty and was not sure why I would call them "ouchie." I felt like Elliot--teaching and escorting my little alien (one who is easily fascinated by toilet paper, drinking straws and Popsicles) back home.

Then I locked him back in the closet with the stuffed animals so the government wouldn't come and take him away.