Context

That's right, this photo needs context. If someone posted this photo in a book advertising children available for adoption, many people would choose this child, Linebacker Dude. What is the context? We were at back-to-school night for the three older children who are attending a charter school. LD started to misbehave. I picked him up to hold him, but he squirmed away and started to tantrum. (Why don't we take photos of our children during tantrums?) Believe me, if I took a photo of him during one of his defiant episodes, no one whould choose the child in that photo. Make a note, Bob: get a photo of defiant LD to post on the blog.

So, anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the tantruming child. He headed for the door. I followed. He ran across the grass. I waited and watched, as a good hunter would do. When he got distracted, I made my move, scooping him up and placing him on this post, which was about four feet above the ground. We stayed there, waiting for Colleen and the rest of the family to catch up with us. Now he had a predicament: do I jump down and probably hurt myself, or do I ask Daddy to hold me? He chose the latter strategy. "Hold me, Daddy." "What, LD, I can't hear you." "Hold me Daddy." "Oh, you want me to hold you?" "Hold me, Daddy" "Okay, LD, if you insist"! Sweet victory!

However, it lasted only until he was off the scary post, then he tried to squirm away again and run, which I could not let him do, because people were leaving in their cars. So I held the kicking and complaining, very muscular little fellow all the way to the van, which, of course was parked what seemed like a mile away.