Seven Years of Monster Dad

Seven years?  Really?  Well, no.  The blog Monster Dad has actually only been around for about two-and-a-half years.  But, my Little Monster was born seven years ago today!  While the term didn't exist yet, on that day I first became Monster Dad.

I didn't start inundating The Little Monster with all the old monster movies and other interests of mine that I've shared with her until she was a couple years old.  At first she was simply a baby, and I was simply a new father who had no idea what to do or just how much life was about to change.  Fatherhood has been a real "adventure" and a true life-changer (naturally).  Of course a few years later we just had to do it all over again and now have two of these Little Creatures underfoot.  The whole experience has at times been much scarier than some of the monster movies I love, but it has also been rewarding too.  And it definitely helped that The Little Monster was willing to indulge some of my interests--and even seemed to enjoy many of them herself.

Watching "Star Wars: Episode IV" together at my 40th birthday backyard drive-in party

Preparing to watch "Ghostbusters" on the big screen last month

Preparing to watch "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" at the local library

Now that she is seven we are starting to really see evidence of her "growing up", and I don't like it one bit.  The Little Monster recently lost the second of her two front teeth.  The Wife informed me told me that she asked her if the Tooth Fairy was real after she found her tooth replaced by a five dollar bill (inflation is a real killer!).  While certainly a valid question and concern, it was the first time The Little Monster has questioned the reality of something that most little kids simply accept as the truth.  I wonder if Santa is next?  Yikes!  Luckily, she still has some of that innocent side in her.  She still asks me "Daddy, is this real?" pretty much whenever we see anything even slightly scary in a movie or TV show that we watch.  She's growing up, but I still love to see that childish (not in a negative) sense of imagination that allows her to be frightened by stuff that in reality isn't all that scary!

I know that as The Little Monster gets older and older we'll have less and less in common as far as my geeky interest in all the old and childish things that have captivated me since I was a kid myself.  But I'll always cherish the time we've spent together and all the things we've watched, read and experienced as Monster Dad and Little Monster!  How many kids of the 2010's have an appreciation for not only Barbie, Disney Princesses and Spongebob Squarepants, but also old Godzilla movies, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges, Bigfoot, The Abominable Snowman, The Loch Ness Monster, Tom Baker-era "Doctor Who", Styx's song "Mr. Roboto", old (1960s-70s) cartoons like Spiderman and Scooby-Doo, and even classic old-time-radio shows like "The Dark" and "The Chicken Heart"?

Here's "The Dark" and "The Chicken Heart"

in case you are interested in hearing them

Here are a few more of the many special moments from the past seven years:

The Monsters watching "A&C Meet Frankenstein" last year

The Monsters watching "The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw"

Godzilla preparing to go for a stroll with Finz

Hanging with Penny Dreadful and Garou of the show "Shilling Shockers"
(Note Witch Barbie)

Passing an old Abominable Snowman children's book of mine on to a new generation

Watching "The Incredible Shrinking Man" for the first time last year

The climatic tarantula scene from "The Incredible Shrinking Man"

While I wouldn't try to say that these things will serve her well as an adult in her pursuit of an education and a successful career, I can't help but think that she'll be just that much more well-rounded as an individual (even if it's only in some small, weird way) with all these odd things enjoyed in her childhood.  I could be wrong, but I'd like to think that I'm not.  Only time will tell...

Which reminds me...  A long time ago I wrote about the problems I have with Time and the passage of Time (in Monster Dad vs. Time).  Looking at my Little Monster as a seven-year-old and seeing how much she's grown up has only reminded me of just how cruel and uncaring Time really is.  What happened to that little baby who would fall asleep in my arms as I read books to her at bedtime?  Where is the little girl who fit into that tiny dragon costume she wore at Halloween a few years back?  How can it be that she is now in first grade, learning so much and growing so much every day?  Before I know it she's going to be older than I was when I first discovered all the wonderful things of my youth that I've been sharing with her.  I was about to suggest that maybe someday she will be sharing some of those same interests with her own children, but THAT thought would be the ULTIMATE terror for this particular Monster Dad!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY LITTLE MONSTER!