Resemblances

"Oh, he looks exactly like his father at that age!"

My mother-in-law must have uttered that line, or variations thereof, at least a dozen times yesterday while gazing at Daniel. According to Stephanie, Daniel and his brothers are virtual copies of her son. In fact, I think she likes to believe that Tab provided all the genetic material for the boys and that I was the mere vessel. I admit that the boys do resemble Tab more than they do me, but there are some traits they have inherited from my side, such as a gap between their front two teeth or the texture of Daniel's hair.

"Oh, but your hair was just like that until you were nine or ten," she tells Tab.

Or, "My brother Stanley had a gap between his teeth just like that."

For the most part I try to ignore it or laugh it off, but this weekend I was able to turn the tables on her.

After his graduation program last night, Daniel had been playing with his remote control car. The car started slowing down, indicating that the battery would soon need to be recharged, but Tab told Daniel he first would have to discharge it fully. Instead of spending another fifteen minutes trying to wear out the battery, Daniel flipped the car upside down so that the wheels were in the air. He then rigged up an arrangement of Duplo blocks that pressed the remote switch forward, causing the wheels to turn.

"Els, take a look at this," Tab called me into the living room and explained what Daniel had done. "Who does that remind you of?"

"Dad, of course," I answered. "Daniel, you're just like Poppy."

I glanced over at Stephanie as I said it. She had a sour look on her face but didn't say anything.

This morning while I was talking on the phone to my mother in Maine, I mentioned Daniel's invention to her. Before I could say anything else about it, she commented, "He sounds just like your father!"

I probably shouldn't have done so, but I couldn't resist reporting this comment to my mother-in-law when she showed up today. Once again, she had no comment.

"Maybe he looks like me, but I wouldn't have thought of something like that when I was a kid," Tab remarked. Daniel does seem to have inherited an engineering proclivity from my father. Like Dad, he is able to analyze a problem and devise an ingenious solution. My father is a brilliant but lazy man. I've often wondered just what he might have accomplished if he'd had the education and a healthy amount of self-discipline. Unfortunately, he was raised by overly indulgent parents who allowed him to coast through school and life with only a minimum amount of effort.

Tab and I are doing our best to teach Daniel about the importance of working toward a goal. We encourage his interests and show him that hard work is its own reward. Maybe one day he will have the success that my father never had.

Even Dad has recognized a kindred spirit. He has told me that he wants Daniel to have his machinist tools one day.

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