Nearly all the parents that my wife and I know send their children to what is commonly referred to as ‘pre-school’. The children set off on this road paved with good intentions between the age of 2 & 3 years old. Because we live in Cambodia the primary course of study is English and sometimes French. Reading, writing and arithmetic soon follow. When I was growing up kindergarten was our pre-school and that didn’t start until we were 5 years old. As I recall, kindergarten was a sort of day-care program designed to teach children to interact socially with their peers. In retrospect, I’m afraid that’s a lesson I never fully comprehended. Fortunately, I managed to do fairly well beyond kindergarten.

         The point is that my wife (Nak) and I are in no hurry for our daughter (Bailey) to grow up. She had her first birthday a week ago. She can be a PITA (pain in the ass) but, for the most part, Bailey is a consummate joy. There have been a few PITA moments, however, which make me wonder why these things don’t come with some sort of warranty. We spent nearly $400.00 on an air-purifier to treat a nagging respiratory problem of hers and it came with a one-year warranty. We spent well over more than I want to be reminded of to have her delivered and she came with no bail-out protection whatsoever. It seems to me that the Better Business Bureau ought to look into this matter. But, I digress…

         Neither Nak nor I work so we have plenty of time to spoil the hell out of Bailey with affection as she explores her little world and develops her delightful personality. Most parents are anxious for their children to walk and talk and soon become anxious for them to sit down and shut up. Bailey crawls. She crawls everywhere in our small apartment. We’ve never bought her toys because everything is a toy to her…plastic bottles, paper napkins, rubber spoons, a deck of cards and so forth. The world is, indeed, her playground and that is a tribute to her imagination. As for talking, she been doing that for months although not in a language that anyone could understand. As far as I’m concerned, Bailey can set her own pace with regard to the maturing process. Of course, if she’s still crawling and speaking gibberish ten years from now we may be persuaded to intervene with a bit of parental guidance.

        No doubt, some people may consider that this laissez-faire approach to raising a child is not only shortsighted but, downright selfish. If that’s the case then, so be it. My wife and I love Bailey exactly the way she is and we will always feel that way even as she matures from being a baby to a child to a young girl and to a woman. The truth is that I’ve never been so unselfish in my life because, since becoming a husband and a father, there are now two people who are far more important to me than I ever was to myself. Our primary hope is that Bailey turns out to be a decent and caring human being. When that happens, and it will happen, Nak and I will not only be proud of our daughter…we will be proud of ourselves.

For the time being, if anybody was to ask me to describe Bailey in one word I would say, "Happy".