Daydreaming of pillows and punching bags

I  was folding clothes one afternoon earlier this week, daydreaming about the upcoming Rams game, when Declan said he wanted a pillow with my face printed on it for Christmas.

I was flattered and continued to fold clothes as the comment shifted my imagination away from sports and towards a more serene setting.

I envisioned Declan snuggling up to a fluffy fleece pillow with my mug stitched on it, an ear to ear grin stretched across his face.

The scene rolled into imaginary altercations between the two of us, with the little fellow voicing his frustration because I refused to allow him to take his "Dad pillow" into the grocery store or to the park for a game of baseball.

Just as a conceited grin was spreading across my face Declan provided a few additional details and my self absorbed vision quickly came to a crashing halt.

"So when I get mad I can beat it up," he added.

"What?" I retorted in shock as I turned my gaze to the third grader standing next to me.

"You want a pillow with my face on it so you can hit it?" I asked.

Declan was thrown off by the melodramatic look of disgust on my face and he quickly began backpedaling.

"Well, I could lay my face on it too, if I miss you," he stumbled, while attempting to hide a mischevious grin.

"But you primarily want it for when you are mad at me?" I again attempted to confirm.

Declan could hold back his grin no longer, but he made no further effort to justify the request and simply blinked at me in silence.

He may very well get the pillow he requested, after all it would likely be far cheaper than the tablet he asked for last week. Something tells me, though, I will spend the next few laundry sessions dreaming up an expression that will make his Dad pillow much more enjoyable for me.