one billion

We got back from vacation last night and I spent the morning at home to help ease the transition back to my desk. I will post a few photos soon.

So far this morning, I have explained how large one billion is to Cole, which I thought would give him something to contemplate, but he followed it up with asking for a concise summary of our monetary system. We discussed bills of exchange and how counterfeit notes affect inflation. The conversation then turned to the bartering system and opportunity cost for goods and services.

It was exhausting.

I am by no means proclaiming how grand my parenting skills are by relating this to you because this is an exception; conversations like this could have happened every moment of our vacation. I found my self fatigued and responded to Cole's inquiries with rude requests for him to keep quiet and enjoy the scenery.

I am proud that I have a curious son, but I am also very happy to be back at my desk where I can write e-mails and answer my clients' questions succinctly without cross examination. My wife, no doubt endures this daily and I have no idea how she copes. She tends to get the zingers like: "why did you make such a horrible dinner?" and "how is the baby going to get out?"