Male Bonding

Dear Hagen,

You and your dad went for a long hike this weekend, and I took these pictures as you were getting ready to head out:

I have no idea what the two of you discussed while on this outing. My guess? Nothing.

Experts on child behavior say that toddlers engage in what's called "parallel play," meaning they play next to each other more than they play with each other. Peg Peg says that the theory of parallel play applies to men of all ages; they can silently drink a beer in the same room with another dude and call it a bonding experience. I once did an experiment on a road trip to see how long your dad would go without talking, and without noticing that his passenger was silent. I think had I not finally gone crazy around Bozeman, the man would have made it well into Utah, and only then would he have spoken long enough to tell the Wendy's drive-thru lady that he wanted a junior bacon cheeseburger.

But whatever he's doing, he must be doing it right to have you look at him the way you do. So, keep on silently keepin' on, Dad.

Love,

Mom