Lobotomy Jack

Look at this kid. Happy, healthy ... sitting before a pile of Christmas presents. We didn't know how well we had it. Less than a month ago, he'd go to bed without incident, follow directions without questions and — just for good measure — clean his plate at every meal.

Over the last two weeks, however, he's been an absolute terror. Random freakouts are the norm, as is completely ignoring directions or just staring at you when you say something to him. Last night, somehow, he was up until 9:45.

What the hell?

There's no good explanation for it other than his age. He's 3. Three-year-olds do that sometimes. We've been pretty fortunate to avoid most of the really long stretches of bad stuff. It's been little phases, a week or two at a time.

But then it goes away and he's back to normal. Right now, I'd take that "in a phase" Jack over Devil Jack.

If I didn't have a couple of stories to write, I'd let him sleep in this morning and then have him stay home today. Not because I think I can fix it, but because the public must be protected.

I'm doing this for you, people.