February 11, 2013 at 10:53 pm , by Nick Shell

2 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

I have no idea who the man in this picture is, but according to some friends on Facebook, he could evidently be me in some alternative version of reality in 1984.

Therefore, the floating butterfly lady is, by default, Mommy.

So I got to thinking: This is probably the best illustration of how you see Mommy and me.

I am the Wizard of Weird and Mommy is the Fairy of Finesse.

Together, the two of us make one magical team. (Evidently, my magic is so cool I can make Mommy fly.)

Even if her ability to fly has something to do with the 1984 version of Photoshop, at least someone went through the trouble of adding in a believable shadow on my arm.

A couple of days ago I mentioned how You Can’t Choose Your Parents; that ” whether it’s for better or for worse, I take pride in showing you my version of how the world works and/or how it should work.”

Well, Son, you basically have Mork and Mindy for parents. That is your reality.

I imagine that to you, as a 2 year-old, everything is laced in fantasy. It will be a while before you can truly start discerning between what is real and what is pretend.

Can trains really talk the way Thomas and his friends can? When we pass the same construction site every morning, is that really Cranky the Crane, as I seem to imply?

Do you wake up every morning to parents who basically put on a magic show for you? Is that what it feels like to be 2 years old?

I think so.

As for the actual man and woman in the picture, I hope they see this and leave a comment. Or if nothing else, maybe someone else knows who this magical couple is so I can give credit where credit is due.

Until then, I will have you believe this is Mommy and me.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Update: Thanks to a reader named Lance, I learned that the magician in the picture is Doug Henning. Lance, thanks for introducing me to him!