I wonder sometimes what my kids will remember from this period of their lives. It’s been so much fun watching them experience new things and just show them the world. I don’t remember much (or anything) from when I was 2 1/2 or 4 1/2 years old…but I think there are probably some foundation pieces that are still in my subconscious.

Which brings me to “John Tonto”. I have been getting a lot of telemarketer calls lately for reasons I don’t know why and I wish would STOP. Let’s just say I’m not always the happiest to receive these calls and sometimes I let it be known.

One day while E and I were out running errands, I got such a call and I told the person to “lose my number and never call me again”. Since it’s out of my typical nature to talk that way in front of my kid (who I had almost forgotten was in the car), she, of course, inquired who I was talking to. Instead of explaining that it was a telemarketer, I made up a person. “John Tonto”.

I thought it’d be a one-time thing. Never talked about again.

Wrong.

It’s been almost 3 months and when the kids use their toy cell phones, they pretend that “John Tonto” is calling them and get upset and hang up on him. They make me pretend that he is calling me and get upset. Emerson has even got her brother in on the act.

Sample Interaction:

• E: Dad, pretend someone is calling you..
• D: OK (picks up pretend phone and holds it to ear)
• E: Dad, who’s calling you?
• D: John Tonto
• E: Ugh. Tell him to stop calling you all the time! Grrrr
• L: (something unintelligible but it sounds like mock anger)

I hope I never forget this memory of them….and that “JT” loses my number 🙂

-Dad