Hal’s mom walked up behind him as he sat at the kitchen table, thumbing through some old photos on her iPad. She noticed he was looking at all the “Water Baby” photos, as she called them, from when he was an infant. “Don’t think I gave you permission to swipe my iPad from my bedroom, mister,” she said with her obviously phony stern mom voice.
Hal didn’t even turn around as he knew she was just teasing. “Yeah, ‘Swiper, no swiping,’ I know, Dora,” Hal joked.
“I’ve told you a million times, my hairstyle is not copied from Dora the Explorer!” Hal’s mom quipped. “Joseph at the salon says it is super chic and highlights my sensuous features.” She struck a profile view pose with her nose just slightly tipped up.
Hal chuckled, “Yeah, you’re the ‘chic-est’ mom in the South Side, Dora.”
Hal’s mom ruffled his hair and asked, “So, what’s the interest in your old ‘Water Baby’ photos, sweetie?”
“Aw, I was just messin’ around and saw them,” he replied. “Tell me again why you call them the ‘Water Baby’ pics.”
“Well, when you were little, there was nothing that made you happier than water,” she started. “You always squealed and laughed whenever you took a tubby. You giggled up a storm when dad used to squirt you from his water bottle. See.” She pointed to a photo where baby Hal was obviously laughing, grinning ear to ear as his dad lightly squirted him with water. “And when you were old enough to drink water – ’cause you know it isn’t safe for very little babies – you were the happiest baby on the planet when daddy let you drink from his water bottle. It always seemed that water just made you happy.” She smiled as she noticed the glass of water sitting next to her son.
Hal pointed at the half-empty glass and said, “Guess I’m still a ‘Water Baby,’ huh? I just always feel better when I keep my fluids up, ya’ know?”
“I know, sugar. You understand the value of things. You’ve always been smarter and just seemed to know more than your age,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah,” answered Hal somewhat absentmindedly. “Um, by the way, there’s no point in telling anybody else about the ‘Water Baby’ thing, OK?”
His mom smiled, tipped her nose into the air a bit again, and started walking away as she said, “That depends on whether you get the car washed today or not!”
Dr. Gregg
Posted – March 26, 2013