Wonder.
I saw it in my Isaac's eyes.
It is a little past his bedtime, and Isaac is acting out the scene where Greg the Yellow Wiggle does a disappearing ball magic trick. It is from one of our Wiggles DVDs.
Mommy and I just got back from dinner, both of us bloody knackered from work, but as I watch him perform the Wiggles scene to me, I cannot resist showing him my silly version of the magic trick.
You can see the look of awe and bewilderment in his eyes as his old man does a very lame disappearing trick with the ball. I drop it in the sofa to hide it, and then pick it up secretly again. Then ball still hidden in my hand, I pretend to whip it out of his pajama pocket. Or from behind his right ear. Or from inside a box of tissues.
It is a trick he will probably figure out very soon. Kids learn very fast especially if their Papa sucks at magic tricks.
For now, he is totally impressed, giving me a wide-eyed look and whispering a soft, long "Woooow.", each time I make the ball disappear and reappear. He looks inside his pajama pockets immediately after the ball disappears from my hands. He checks inside the tissue box too. You can almost see his eyes asking "How does Papa do that?"
I know he will learn how his father does this trick soon. But I am going to enjoy his sense of wonder for as long as I can. In fact, I watch his reaction with my own wonder, humbled that I am able to have a glimpse of his delight, admiration and curiosity.
"Is it magic?" I tease him. He replies, "Ya!"
I think so too.
