It’s been a decade since I entered the world of fatherhood.
On June 12, 2014, Toby Alexander Marsalis entered the world. He celebrated his 10th birthday on Wednesday.
Since Toby was born, these last 10 years have been full of fun, surprises, unpredictability and flashbacks. Some of those flashbacks involve Marvel Comics superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and many others. Many toys, Legos and costumes relating to these characters have been bought, worn or played with since this time.
When Toby was a baby, he started to say words like “a ba ba.” Even though most people had no idea what he was saying, he knew what he was saying.
The “gibberish” lasted until he was 3. There were plenty of times when we would be at the Chick-Fil-A playground and another child would ask me what language he was speaking.
I would give all sorts of answers such as Russian, Canadian French, German or Icelandic. Each time, the poor child who asked the question actually believed me.
Getting to bed was never an issue. I can thank piano lullaby music by Andrew Holdsworth for that.
In addition to reliving my days as a Marvel fan, Toby also introduced me to the world of Paw Patrol. His phase as a fan of Marshall and Chase lasted a few months before he switched to Marvel.
If you asked Toby what Hulk says, he would say, “Hulk Yuh!” Captain America was “Capkin Aberica,” Thor was “Tor,” but the others were pronounceable. Spider-Man was always his favorite.
There was a time when we couldn’t go anywhere without his Spider-Man costume, including church. The pastor and other church people probably didn’t recognize him without the costume.
Toby still likes Marvel characters, but he has graduated to the non-animated movies such as “Avengers Endgame,” “the Tobey Maguire Spiderman trilogy, and others. His interests have also expanded to the Mario Bros., Minecraft, Roblox, etc.
Toby’s also a great big brother to Megan and Bella. When he learned that my wife and I were expecting Megan, he said, “I’m going to teach my baby sister how to walk.”
Toby lived up to his promise alright. We can’t get Megan to slow down.
Now, it’s only a matter of time before Toby and Megan teach Bella how to walk. She’s still trying to figure out the crawling thing.
Although it’s a day late, Happy Birthday Toby. I love you and look forward to many more birthdays - and decades - with you.
Jason Chlapek is the general manager of the Fairfield Recorder. He can be reached at editor@fairfield-recorder. com.
