Nature

We had dinner this evening with one of Julie's former coworkers and her husband. Their kids are six and three and probably the coolest kids worldwide. The six-year-old is a democrat, knows everything about dinosaurs and presidents (and likely realizes McCain is a dinosaur), and he writes books in his spare time. The three-year-old wants to do everything her brother does, and she has the dramatic talent to one day perform on a major stage.

When I was little, on the other hand, all I ever did was bounce a tennis ball off the garage door. Guests would ask my parents, "What's exciting with little Daniel these days?"

"Did you see the marks on the garage door? Our son made those marks."
"Anything [thunk] else?"

So what makes a kid who they are? I know, I know: some combination of nature and nurture. Our dinner companions tonight are the real deal when it comes to parenting, but certainly they got lucky too.

But will we? I mean, there are tons of movies about normal parents whose kid is a psychopath. And they all say they're "based on a true story." I have this irrational, almost-midnight fear that we'll become the true story.

"So what's little [insert name] up to?"
"Um, you're going to want to duck now."