Collin's First Idol Worship

Collin's been in swim class all summer. The first session he was in love with his teacher, Miss Polly. That was okay with me because, let's face it, she was cute, as all eighteen-year-old lifeguards seem to be and, well, she is a girl. He did pretty well with Miss Polly, but when the second session started and Mr. Dylan was his teacher, he started off skeptical. He seemed to be amazed that a teacher of anything can have man parts.

That skepticism has blossomed into pure idol worship. If three sentences go by in the morning in the brief hours before we get to swim class in which his name isn't mentioned, it's a miracle. The sun rises and sets with this pre-man (because is anyone under twenty really a man?) who my son describes as "hairy like Santa."

Collin is so eager to impress him that he wants to put his head under water as long as possible, as far as possible and go down the "fast slide" as many times as possible to show him he's brave just like him.

I choose to believe that this is male idol worship and that he is learning good male role models in educational positions, which we don't see all that often, rather than him having a little boy crush. It is way too cute to watch him though. This is the conversation we have to have in the car every day on the way home:

Me: Collin, you can't push the other students aside when it's not your turn to practice with Dylan

Collin: But I want to!

Me: You get plenty of turns and you have to listen in class.

Collin: But I want to play with Dylan!

Me: Dylan will come and get you when it's your turn.

Collin: But I want ANOTHER turn!! I can't wait!! I'm too excited!!

Me: Ugh.

On another note, this is what I came home to after swim class today.

If we leave a tissue box within reach of our dog, he WILL find it, no ifs ands or buts about it. He doesn't really chew anything else, just tissue boxes. He's weird. He also likes to bring them down to the living room, place them delicately in the middle of the floor and on prominent display, to ensure that it's the first thing I see when I come home. This box was from the nightstand upstairs. He is also not ashamed of his habit. Stupid dog. (Is it wrong that because this is my last box of tissues and I have a runny nose, I debated saving them because those few in the pile there look a little "unchewed?")

So stupid, in fact that while I was taking a picture of the tissues, he thought, "hmmm, what a good place to lay down." I love my dog but sometimes I wonder if evolution didn't somehow skip him in particular.