Child Level 2

Hon was deskinning some chicken legs one morning for a slow cooker recipe.  I, in my sleepy cold-fogged state, began cheering him on as he struggled to push the skin over the bone of one drumstick.  Truthfully, I may have actually been cheering on the chicken in its attempts to get naked.  Same thing, really.

Regardless, Hon replied with "I figure this is somewhat like dressing a 5 year old."

This is pretty much how his relationships with small humans go.  Slightly weird, but at least it shows a growing understanding. (Because, while he's off by about 4 years, dressing an infant can, some times, be much like skinning a chicken.)

Hon has been getting better.  He still jokes about his zombie-esque child hold: arms straight out, child gripped between both hands, quizzical look on face.  You may think that joking about this isn't a great improvement.  But this used to not be a joke.  

See?  Huge progress.

Picture an old NES screen (for those youngsters out there, see here.).  Bright colors, a few pixelated fireworks.  And "Congratulations! Level 2" scrolls across.  Skills acquired: holding children.

Yup, dealing with children has been turned into a MMO.  

Hon is currently on his way to level 3 (having mastered car seats and holding babies with one arm).  

Hon, securing a small human in their car seat.

There are plans afoot to help him continue to gain xp and learn how his way around this topic.  Such as obtaining a pet.  Dog ownership automatically boosts your level by 3.

Or, as Thanksgiving has brought about: Dog sitting.  

Such a promising task has already brought about some fun stories.  Pretty much like this:

Soon followed by... "SQUIRREL!"

But more on that later.