'Tis the season

With March nearing its end, the looming deadline of April 15 has been weighing heavily on me and that pile of incomplete forms sitting on my table has been calling me every night.

What I didn't realize is that my Darling Boy has caught tax season fever too.

Yesterday, at church, as the boy tried to amuse himself while our priest gave his homily, my little guy pulled out of my purse - a pen and the blue notebook, where he's allowed to scribble his own little writings and drawings.

The boy said, "I'm going to write 'tax.' "

Knowing his Montessori-based understanding of letters and their sounds, this is actually not a difficult word to put together.

I smilled and nodded while I watched carefully.

The boy thought it through, sounded out each letter one at a time.

"Tuh" he said. Then he wrote a T

"Aahhh," he said. And he worked his way around making a round-topped A

"ixxx" he said. And then he made the criss-crossed letter.

And there it was - his first attempt at spelling a new word and he did it without any help from me.

I was so proud.

And then I wondered if this means he'll be an accountant. It is certainly a story I'll tell the grandkids some day if he does.