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Yesterday was Jack’s birthday. Six years old. Dan and I can’t get over it. It’s frightening how fast the last six years have gone.

Jack’s big birthday surprise was a giant railroad crossing bank. Every time you drop a coin into it, the lights flash and a train horn blows. It’s pretty cool and Jack is crazy about it. We gave him a cup of spare change to go with it so he and his sister and brothers could have at it for a while. Our house sounded like Grand Central Station for much of the day. Literally.

The only issue with Jack’s birthday present has been… well… it’s name.

A little history first…

With Jack having been a train aficionado for quite some time now, we’ve had plenty of practice doing things like crossing railroad tracks at his request. Each time we do this, some or all of the kids (and sometimes Dan and I) create our own sound effects. “Ding-ding…ding-ding…ding-ding!” We shout, as we make our way bumpily over the tracks.

We’ve crossed lots of tracks. There were tracks to be crossed daily when we lived in Missouri. And, there are tracks to be crossed at least several times a week here. Not to mention all the crossings we go out of our way to make. Come to think of it, Sam’s first word may have been “ding,” as it was quite possibly the word he heard most often from all of us.

With all this ding-ing, Jack has naturally dubbed railroad crossings, “Ding-Dingers.” I can’t remember when he first started calling them that, but I don’t think he’s ever called them by any other name.

Applicable. Natural. Sensible. Reasonable.

Until you hear things like this:

“I’m going upstairs to play with my Ding-Dinger!”

“Mom, please don’t let anyone else touch my Ding-Dinger.”

“Mom, can I have some money? I want to play with Jack’s Ding-Dinger.”

“I’m closing my door so no one will touch my Ding-Dinger.”

“Show-n-tell? My Ding-Dinger!”

Ummmm. Yeah. So. If my oldest boy calls you and wants to tell you all about his Ding-Dinger, please don’t hang up on him. I swear – it’s not an obscene phone call. It’s just Jack wanting to talk about his super cool birthday present.