Mark's new BFF

Mark loves to read, for which I am eternally grateful. He plows through books at an alarming speed, and then re-reads them until I think my head might explode. (We went through the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series before bedtime no less than five times. Just for the record, it's only funny the first couple times.)

His latest discovery is Calvin and Hobbes -- yes, the sassy little kid with his stuffed tiger. Mark checked out a couple Calvin books from the library, raced through them, and then bought his own copies of the comic collections. And every night before bed, we read the madcap adventures of Calvin and his talking tiger. Mark thinks Calvin is the bomb, and I think it's funny how Calvin's mom and I yell the same exact things at our little boys.

"See, ALL moms sound the same!" I told Mark.

Last night, as I went into his room for his nightly blood sugar check, I noticed something wrapped tightly in Mark's arms. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a stuffed tiger. This morning, Mark informed me the tiger's name is Hobbes.

Apparently, Calvin's not the only boy with a magical stuffed tiger. I asked Mark if his tiger also talked, but he replied sadly, "No."

"Well, keep listening," I told him. "Hobbes only talks when Calvin's parents aren't around. Maybe your Hobbes is feeling shy because I'm here."

Mark flashed a hopeful look at Hobbes; then, a smile slowly crept across his face. He hadn't thought about that.

I hope Mark's imagination is as big as Calvin's; I just hope his propensity for trouble is not.