Sebastian (aka The Dude) turns 5 this week.
It’s hard for me to express what the journey from 4 to 5 actually has been like.
However, I’ll let you in on some parenting wins that have certainly made our favorite preschooler an entertaining part of the household.
I can think back to Sebastian when he could barely speak and I’d be opening his ear drums up to all manner of rock, punk, metal, etc.
So much so, that if it was naptime and I had him in his car seat to drift off, I could have some obnoxiously aggressive music playing and he’d be fast asleep in no time.
Over the last couple of years, his use of YouTube exposed him not just to the music I listen to but he came across older bands like Journey, Twisted Sister, Van Halen and more which he also enjoyed.
As I write this, we are preparing to surprise him with tickets to his first “big boy” concert in seeing Journey live this weekend…I know, I know, it’s not Steve Perry but he does happen to like both Steve and Arnel (the fella handling vocal duties for the band now).
Surprisingly, despite the fact that I used to sing in bands and his mother is an accomplished vocalist in her own right, Sebastian has never sung around us. We have caught him humming songs from time to time but no outright singing.
That was until about a month ago when Sebastian, my wife and my in-laws were at a July 4th party and the karaoke machine came out.
Sebastian decided he wanted to be in the spotlight.
When my wife asked him what song he wanted to sing, his response was “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.
And to the astonishment of friends and family, Sebastian held the mic, waited for the cue from the karaoke host and did his best rendition of the song (although it’s up in the air how many of the lyrics he actually knew!)
Nevertheless, it was a hit and we promptly put it up on social media so we could share the moment with others.
Since then, Sebastian is notorious for getting in my car and saying: “Dada, play something loud” or coming into RevFit despite the fact that there is a room full of clients training and asking: “Dada, can you play Pantera?”
And believe me, parent to parent, I’m proud as punch.
While he would never in a million years get this (in)formal music education from his mother, we do try to give him exposure to a lot of different styles of music.
He loves his electric guitar, he loves his drums, he loves science experiments, he loves fireworks, he loves electronics, he is apparently allergic to the word “No” and he loves throwing nuclear meltdowns.
For the record, his mother and I aren’t fond of the meltdowns but we try and work through it…
All in all, Sebastian is our favorite 5-year old. When he isn’t in meltdown mode or banging his head to Machine Head’s “Davidian” (another classic moment we caught on video), he is happy, he is loving, he still adores his big brother Jackson and I think he’s going to have a very good birthday.
To our head banging, hell raising child…Sebastian, we love you. Happy Birthday, Dude.
